Results of a Survey of Parents’ Perceptions of the Duration of Their Child’s ADHD Medication Reported at Medical Meeting

60 Percent of Over 100 Mothers Surveyed Reported their Child’s Medication Stopped Working Before 6 p.m.

Shire plc (LSE: SHP,
Nasdaq: SHPGY, TSX: SHQ), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company,
yesterday announced results of a national survey where 60 percent of 121
mothers reported their 6 to 12 year old child’s once-daily Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication stopped working before 6
p.m. The survey findings report the perceptions of 500 parents of children
with ADHD regarding the duration of effectiveness of their child’s
once-daily stimulant or non-stimulant ADHD medication and were presented
yesterday at the 2007 Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) Annual Conference.
    This survey was conducted via Internet interviews of 249 parents of
children with ADHD aged 6 to 12 years (125 took stimulant medications and
124 children took non-stimulant medications) and 251 parents of adolescents
aged 13 to 17 years (126 took stimulant medications and 125 took
non-stimulant medications). The children of the surveyed parents took their
ADHD medication once daily in the morning.
    Results of the survey found that among the 249 parents of children aged
6 to 12 with ADHD, a majority of those children take their ADHD medication
between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Among 219 parents with children taking ADHD
stimulant medications, 70 percent said that their child’s medication lasted
11 hours or less.
    Additionally, more than half of parents of children with ADHD aged 6 to
12 reported that their child’s medication stopped working before 6 p.m. A
graphical representation of this finding is available at (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071109/NYF019 ).
    “These survey results illustrate that parents may not see their
children’s ADHD medications working until 6 p.m.,” said Robert Findling,
M.D., lead author of the survey and Professor of Psychiatry at Case Western
Reserve University and Director of the Division of Adolescent and Child
Psychiatry at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. “This may be
important because ADHD doesn’t only impact a child’s school performance but
can also impact interactions with friends, coaches, and other family
members.”
    This survey was supported by Shire plc.
    About ADHD
    Approximately 7.8 percent of all school-age children, or about 4.4
million U.S. children aged 4 to 17 years, have been diagnosed with ADHD at
some point in their lives, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). ADHD is one of the most common psychiatric
disorders in children and adolescents. The disorder is also estimated to
affect 8.1 percent of adults, or approximately 9.2 million adults across
the U.S. based on a retrospective survey of adults aged 18 to 44, projected
to the full U.S. adult population. ADHD is a neurobiological disorder that
manifests as a persistent pattern of inattention and/or
hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequent and severe than is
typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development. To
be properly diagnosed with ADHD, a child needs to demonstrate at least six
of nine symptoms of inattention; and/or at least six of nine symptoms of
hyperactivity/impulsivity; the onset of which appears before age 7 years;
that some impairment from the symptoms is present in two or more settings
(e.g., at school and home); that the symptoms continue for at least six
months; and that there is clinically significant impairment in social,
academic or occupational functioning and the symptoms cannot be better
explained by another psychiatric disorder.
    Although there is no “cure” for ADHD, there are accepted treatments
that specifically target its symptoms. The most common standard treatments
include educational approaches, psychological or behavioral modification,
and medication.
    Poster Information
    Parental Perceptions of the Duration of Effectiveness of Prescription
Medications used to treat Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in
Children and Adolescents
    November 8, 2007; 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. EST
    SHIRE PLC
    Shire’s strategic goal is to become the leading specialty
biopharmaceutical company that focuses on meeting the needs of the
specialist physician. Shire focuses its business on attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), human genetic therapies (HGT),
gastrointestinal (GI) and renal diseases. The structure is sufficiently
flexible to allow Shire to target new therapeutic areas to the extent
opportunities arise through acquisitions. Shire’s in-licensing, merger and
acquisition efforts are focused on products in niche markets with strong
intellectual property protection either in the US or Europe. Shire believes
that a carefully selected portfolio of products with strategically aligned
and relatively small-scale sales forces will deliver strong results.
    For further information on Shire, please visit the Company’s website:
http://www.shire.com
    THE “SAFE HARBOR” STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION
REFORM ACT OF 1995
    Statements included herein that are not historical facts are forward-
looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of
risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time. In the event
such risks or uncertainties materialize, Shire’s results could be
materially affected. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, risks associated with: the inherent uncertainty of
pharmaceutical research; product development including, but not limited to,
the successful development of JUVISTA(R) (Human TGFBeta3) and GA-GCB
(velaglucerase alfa); manufacturing and commercialization including, but
not limited to, the launch and establishment in the market of VYVANSE(TM)
(lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder
(“ADHD”)); the impact of competitive products including, but not limited
to, the impact of those on Shire’s ADHD franchise; patents including, but
not limited to, legal challenges relating to Shire’s ADHD franchise;
government regulation and approval including, but not limited to, the
expected product approval date of INTUNIV(TM) (guanfacine extended release)
(ADHD); Shire’s ability to secure new products for commercialization and/or
development; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time
in Shire plc’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
particularly Shire plc’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2006.