Cardinal Health Renews Distribution Agreement With Walgreens

Specialty Solutions Business Also Signs New P4 Pathways Agreements

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Dec 07, 2010, 09:30 ET

DUBLIN, Ohio, Dec. 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardinal Health today announced the early renewal of its distribution agreement with Walgreens to supply pharmaceuticals to its national network of retail pharmacies. The new agreement extends into 2013.

"Walgreens is a valued partner for Cardinal Health, and we are proud to continue our long-standing relationship," said George Barrett, chairman and chief executive officer of Cardinal Health. "The new agreement builds on the fundamentals of our existing relationship, and the terms were factored into the fiscal 2011 guidance we provided in October."

Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In addition, Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions announced that its P4 Healthcare business has signed new P4 Pathways agreements with AmeriHealth and PerformRx and extended its multi-year relationship with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. These new business opportunities follow the recent announcement to implement the P4 Pathways program for oncology practices within the Highmark BlueCross BlueShield network in Pennsylvania.

Through the new agreements, P4 Healthcare will help each payor work with physicians to develop clinical protocols or "pathways" that improve the consistency, quality and cost-effectiveness of treatment regimens for common types of cancer.

"Our new agreements with AmeriHealth and PerformRx networks are proof positive that our physician-centric approach to developing cancer care pathways is valued by physicians and payors alike," said Meghan FitzGerald, president of Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions. "We're also excited about enhancing our partnership with physicians in the CareFirst network. We plan to work collaboratively to develop a model that reimburses physicians for the valuable consultative services they deliver to patients and ultimately rewards them for improving patient outcomes. These agreements highlight our approach to align the interests of physicians and payors to improve patient outcomes and quality of care."

About Cardinal Health

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $99 billion health care services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care. As the business behind health care, Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices focus on patient care while reducing costs, improving efficiency and quality, and increasing profitability. Cardinal Health is an essential link in the health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 60,000 locations each day. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company supports the growing diagnostic industry by supplying medical products to clinical laboratories and operating the nation's largest network of radiopharmacies that dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Ranked #17 on the Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. More information about the company may be found at cardinalhealth.com.