SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                                  SCHEDULE 14A
                                 (Rule 14a-101)

                     INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
                            SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
           Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
                   Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. _____)

Filed by the Registrant
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant [X]

Check the appropriate box:
[ ] Preliminary Proxy Statement  [ ]Confidential, For Use of the Commission Only
                                              (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
[ ] Definitive Proxy Statement
[X] Definitive Additional Materials
[ ] Soliciting Material Under Rule 14a-12

                            ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                (Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
                   ICN Committee to Maximize Shareholder Value
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
    [X] No fee required.
    [ ] Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
    (1) Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (2)  Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (3)  Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed
    pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the
    filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (4)  Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (5)  Total fee paid:
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    [ ]  Fee paid previously with preliminary materials:
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    [ ]  Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act
    Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was
    paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement
    number, or the form or schedule and the date of its filing.

    (1)  Amount previously paid:
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (2)  Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (3)  Filing Party:
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (4)  Date Filed:
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------





The following is the text of a press release issued by the ICN Committee to
Maximize Shareholder Value on or about May 24, 2001:



                 The ICN Committee to Maximize Shareholder Value
                     says, "What's Debt Got to Do With It?"

         New York, New York, May 24, 2001 -- The ICN Committee to Maximize
Shareholder Value said today:

         "Questions have been posed in recent weeks about the relationship of
ICN Pharmaceuticals' (NYSE: ICN) outstanding senior debt to its proposed
restructuring."

         "ICN has regularly pointed out that a spin-off of Ribapharm requires
refinancing or obtaining consents from ICN's senior notes. In its press
releases, however, ICN rarely chooses to mention the fact that dealing with
ICN's debt is not a problem limited to a spin-off - that an IPO of Ribapharm is
subject to the same requirement - a fact that Ribapharm's own SEC filing makes
clear."

         "ICN has asserted in some quarters that its senior debtholders `simply
will not restructure' - by which we assume they mean, that no reasonable amount
of money will induce ICN's senior debtholders to tender their bonds or to
release their covenants."

         "If this were true however, this obstacle would affect the IPO and the
spin-off equally and there simply couldn't be any IPO or spin-off of Ribapharm.
If this were true, it would be irrelevant whether the funds to pay off the bonds
were available from new borrowings or the proceeds of an IPO or whether the
equity market is bullish or bearish."

         "And if this were indeed the case, it would cause us to ask why this
point is coming to light only now and whether ICN's oft-repeated commitment to a
restructuring plan was no more than a hollow attempt to placate shareholders."

         "But we think ICN's latest assertion is a `red herring' that serves
only to obscure the facts and the issues."

         "We are convinced that there is a price at which ICN's non-callable
senior debt can be repurchased - and that whatever premium or monetary
inducement may be required is a small price to pay to pave the way for releasing
the true value of ICN."


Enquiries:
Eric Knight
SSP-Special Situations Partners Inc.
Tel. + (377) 93 10 61 40