HEIDELBERG, Germany and SAN LEANDRO, California, USA—July 19/18, 2001—LION bioscience AG (Neuer Markt: LIO, WKN 504 350, Nasdaq: LEON), the leading provider for integrated Life Science Information management solutions, and MDL Information Systems, Inc., the recognized leader in discovery informatics for the life sciences and chemistry in industry and academia, today announced that they have entered into software license and reselling agreements.

LION will license a wide range of MDL's industry-standard informatics applications and databases in order to develop and commercialize software applications that can interface with MDL's widely deployed products. Together with MDL's applications, LION's integrated Life Science Informatics offering will further accommodate the entire R&D chain of the life science industry. The license includes MDL's ISIS, Assay Explorer, Apex, Afferent and CrossFire Beilstein, which will also be immediately deployed for use in LION's internal drug discovery efforts. At the same time MDL will be the exclusive, global reseller for LION's iDEA™ product line for the prediction and analysis of ADME (adsorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion). Financial details of the agreements were not disclosed.

"This arrangement with MDL is another important step in facilitating the creation of knowledge management solutions that can integrate all disciplines in discovery that are required by the life science industry. The distribution of our unique iDEA™ products through MDL's sales force will enable us at the same time to introduce our software to an even larger customer base," said Dr. Friedrich von Bohlen, CEO of LION bioscience. "Our joint customers can now take advantage of the integration of MDL's leading informatics systems in addition to those of other cheminformatics partners as part of our integrated life science informatics solution. This will enable our customers to significantly improve performance and quality while reducing R&D time for their in-house discovery programs."

Pat Rougeau, president and CEO of MDL, said, "We are delighted that LION has selected MDL products as a key component of their research environment. They join the multitude of leading life science companies using MDL's discovery informatics solutions to enhance and accelerate their drug discovery efforts. Enabling LION to create interoperability with our products is another example of MDL's strategy to provide an open, flexible, and scaleable discovery informatics environment for the life sciences industry. We also are pleased to add LION's iDEA™ products to MDL's product portfolio to further create a comprehensive offering in the important area of ADME/Tox prediction and analysis for our mutual customers."

About LION bioscience
LION bioscience (http://www.lionbioscience.com) provides proven information and knowledge management solutions to significantly improve life science R&D performance and productivity. These solutions integrate all R&D disciplines, spanning from genetics to early and late discovery through clinical trials. LION applies these solutions for its internal drug discovery program in the field of nuclear receptors with the goal to out-license specific databases, polymorphism marker panels, and validated targets and leads.

Founded in 1997, LION, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, has more than 465 employees, with headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, and subsidiaries in Cambridge, UK, Cambridge, MA, USA and San Diego, CA, USA. To date, LION has established partnerships with leading life science companies, including Aventis, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celera, DuPont, GlaxoSmithKline, GMD, Janssen, Merck Inc., Nestle, Novartis, Paradigm Genetics, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Roche, Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals and Tripos.

About MDL
MDL Information Systems ("MDL") is the recognized leader in discovery informatics for the life sciences and chemistry in industry and academia. MDL software, content, and services provide the enterprise-wide discovery informatics framework for comprehensive and successful discovery research. We are an international business headquartered in San Leandro, CA, with offices worldwide. MDL Information Systems, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Elsevier Science, Inc. For more information, visit www.mdli.com.

About Discovery Informatics Solutions from MDL
MDL comprehensive solutions for capturing, managing, analyzing, visualizing, and sharing chemical and biological information across the enterprise include: ISIS, Integrated Scientific Information System, which serves as an information management framework and application environment for chemical and biological data; Assay Explorer, a powerful, customizable, and extensible biological data management system that provides biologists with the ability to capture, analyze, and store all of their experimental results within the Oracle environment; Apex, an integrated plate management system that enables scientists to create, track and manage plates; Afferent, a knowledge base that assists chemists working in modern team-oriented chemical discovery to manage the broad range of experimental data and other information they generate; and CrossFire Beilstein, the world's largest chemical facts database that offers access to over two centuries of data describing preparations and properties of known organic compounds.