American Cyanamid Company and Zeneca Seeds Inc. have announced a global technology collaboration in the breeding of high performance canola varieties. Canola acreage is rapidly increasing around the world due to increased demand for high quality canola oil, which is the lowest in saturated fat of all vegetable oils.

This initiative utilizes Cyanamid's expertise in herbicide tolerant crops and weed control, and Zeneca Seed's expertise in biotechnology and advanced plant breeding. Zeneca Seeds will market the results of this collaboration and will also sub-license varieties to other seed companies.

This multi-faceted collaboration will lead to the development of additional imidazolinone tolerant canola varieties, known as SMART(TM) canola in Canada, for the canola industry. As a result of this agreement, canola growers will be able to access new high performance varieties and benefit from the broad spectrum, season long, weed control offered by the imidazolinone herbicides. The first commercial varieties resulting from this agreement are projected to be available in 2001. The three countries of focus through this agreement will initially be Canada, the United States and Australia.

"American Cyanamid is very pleased to be working with Zeneca Seeds to provide growers in Canada and around the world with new and better varieties to help improve their yields by using imidazolinone herbicides to control weed competition, including problem weeds farmers are having difficulty controlling with current technology," said Dr. Mark Atwood, President of Cyanamid Agricultural Products Research Division.

The imidazolinones are a unique family of crop protection products for weed control that were developed by Cyanamid Agricultural Products Research Division. The imidazolinones work on an enzyme which is present in plants but not in animals, birds, fish or insects. This selectivity makes the imidazolinones non-toxic to humans and wildlife while providing outstanding weed control. Farmers around the world use imidazolinone based products to control weeds in crops that are naturally tolerant to these environmentally compatible herbicides.

The Zeneca Seeds/Cyanamid agreement is one of the most recent efforts by Cyanamid and collaborators to develop and market herbicide tolerant crops. Cyanamid was the first to market a herbicide tolerant crop with the release of imidazolinone tolerant corn in 1992, followed by SMART(TM) canola in Canada, in 1995.

Zeneca Seeds is a member company of Advanta, the fourth largest seed company globally. In the United States member companies of Advanta include Interstate Payco Seeds, Advanta Pacific, and the Garst Seed Company. Through its Canadian Business, Zeneca Seeds Inc. is a leader in canola hybrid breeding technology, introducing hybrid canola seed to the North American market. The company is a leading supplier of canola seed across Canada and the USA.

American Cyanamid Company is a subsidiary of American Home Products Corporation (AHP) (NYSE: AHP), which is one of the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical and health care products companies. AHP is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. It is also a global leader in vaccines, biotechnology, agricultural products, and animal health care.

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including those detailed from time to time in AHP's periodic reports, including quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and the annual report on Form 10-K, filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ from the forward-looking statements.

CONTACT:
David Albaugh of American Cyanamid, 973-683-3255
Howard Morris of Zeneca Seeds, 800-661-9000

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