ICN PHARMACEUTICALS SETTLES 6-YEAR JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATION OF
DISCLOSURE OMISSION

COSTA MESA, Calif., December 11, 2001 -- ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(NYSE: ICN) announced today that it has entered into a plea
agreement with the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles to settle a
6-year Investigation.

ICN agrees to plead guilty to a single felony count for securities fraud
for omitting to disclose until February 17, 1995 the existence and content
of a letter received from the FDA in very late December 1994 regarding the
status of ICN's 1994 application for Virazole as a monotherapy treatment
for chronic hepatitis C. ICN agrees to pay a fine of $5.6 million (reserved
by the company in 2000) and to be subject to a three-year term of
probation. It is expected that the settlement will be submitted to the
court for approval in December 2001.

The settlement further provides that the U.S. Attorney will not prosecute
or further investigate any of ICN's officers, will close its investigation
of the Company and its officers, and will not bring any further charges
against the Company.

A Company spokesman stated that, "ICN is pleased that this 6-year old
investigation has been put behind us."

ICN is an innovative,  research-based  company. Its therapeutic focus is on
anti-infectives, including anti-virals, dermatology and oncology.

ICN's leading product is Virazole(R) (ribavirin), discovered and developed
by scientists at ICN laboratories in Costa Mesa, California. It is marketed
in the United States and the European Union for aerosol use in the
treatment of hospitalized infants and young children with severe lower
respiratory tract infection caused by the respiratory syncytial virus
(RSV), and is marketed in a total of 44 countries in a variety of forms
around the world for different viral indications. Oral ribavirin is also
licensed to and marketed by Schering-Plough in capsule form for combination
treatment of hepatitis C in the United States, Europe and Japan.

Additional information is also available on the Company's website at
http://www.icnpharm.com.
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THE 'SAFE HARBOR' STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM
ACT OF 1995. This press release contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the
company's ability to complete its restructuring plan according to stated
timeframes, projections of future sales, operating income, returns on
invested assets, regulatory approval processes, and other risks detailed
from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission
filings.