Result of Placing & Open Offer

12 Jul 2005

NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN

St Albans, UK, 12 July 2005: On 16 June 2005, ML Laboratories plc (LSE: MLB) announced a Placing and Open Offer of 45,741,683 Ordinary Shares and a Vendor Placing of 91,758,315 Ordinary Shares, each at the Issue Price of 19p, to raise approximately £23.7 million, net of expenses. The Company also announced the proposed acquisition of Quadrant Technologies Limited and the proposed acquisition of a minority shareholding in Innovata Biomed Limited.

The Company today announces that by 3.00 p.m. on 11 July 2005 (being the latest time and date for receipt of completed Application Forms and payment in full under the Open Offer), valid applications had been received in respect of 38,645,776 Placing and Open Offer Shares, representing 84.5% per cent of the Placing and Open Offer Shares available pursuant to the Placing and Open Offer. The balance of the Placing and Open Offer Shares (being 7,095,907 such shares) are being subscribed by institutional investors at 19p per Ordinary Share according to the terms of the Placing Agreement. In accordance with the terms of the Open Offer, fractional entitlements are not being allotted.

The New Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the Vendor Placing have been placed firm with institutional investors at 19p per New Ordinary Share.

The Placing and Open Offer and the Vendor Placing each remain conditional, inter alia, upon the passing by the Company's shareholders of certain resolutions which are to be considered at the Company's Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on 14 July 2005.

Application has been made for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities. Subject to the passing of the requisite resolutions at the Extraordinary General Meeting and subject to completion of the Quadrant Acquisition, it is expected that Admission will become effective and dealings will commence at 08.00am on 15 July 2005.

Commenting on today's announcement, Kieran Murphy, CEO of ML said:

"We are pleased with the support we have received from both existing and new investors. The funds raised will enable us to deliver on our strategy of developing new products for respiratory disease and inhaled therapeutics. Our first priority following shareholder approval will be to integrate Quadrant into the ML business to create Innovata, and we look forward to implementing this over the coming months."

Code Securities Limited (which is regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority) is acting solely for ML Laboratories plc in connection with the Placing and Open Offer and is not acting for any person other than ML Laboratories plc and will not be responsible for any person other than ML Laboratories plc for providing the protections afforded to clients of Code Securities Limited or for providing advice to any person other than ML Laboratories plc for providing advice to any person in connection with the matters described in this announcement.

Terms defined in the announcement of the Company made on 16 June 2005 bear the same meaning when used in this announcement.

ENDS

Contacts:

ML Laboratories plc
Tel: 0115 974 474
Kieran Murphy, Chief Executive
Peter Shennan, Finance Director

Code Securities Limited
Tel: 020 7776 1200
Juliet Thompson
Richard Potts

Financial Dynamics
Tel: 020 7269 7148
Sarah MacLeod