Contact us | Sign in | A A A | U.S.A. U.S.A. (Change) - English
About us Our Businesses Community Investors News/Media Careers

Cardinal Health, US Oncology Sign Two 5-Year Supply Agreements Valued At More Than $2.5 Billion In Total

DUBLIN, Ohio, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) announced today that under two new, five-year agreements, US Oncology, Inc. is expected to purchase more than $2.5 billion of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and automated dispensing and inventory-management systems from Cardinal companies. US Oncology is the country's largest network of physicians, clinicians, nurses and administrators focused exclusively on cancer care.

The agreements are with two Cardinal companies -- National Specialty Services, Inc. and Pyxis Corporation -- which worked together on the contracts. National Specialty Services, or NSS, is a leading distributor of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and other health-care products to physician practices, home care companies and other sites of patient care outside hospitals. Pyxis Corporation is the nation's leading developer and provider of advanced, automated dispensing systems for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies used throughout the health-care continuum. The agreement with US Oncology calls for the use of PYXISSTATION® units, which Pyxis designed specifically for the unique supply and clinical information needs of health- care providers in alternate-site medical settings.

''Agreements such as these reflect the unique ability of Cardinal companies to bring together integrated resources directed specifically toward helping health-care providers fulfill their mission of caring for patients,'' said John C. Kane, president and chief operating officer of Cardinal Health. ''With more patients being treated outside the traditional hospital setting, we see tremendous opportunities for growth in serving the vital needs of this important segment of health care.''

Under the agreements, US Oncology has named NSS its exclusive distributor for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, covering all US Oncology treatment centers. US Oncology also has selected Pyxis Corporation as its exclusive provider of automated dispensing and inventory-management systems, which will connect US Oncology's growing network of physicians, clinicians, nurses and administrators. Other terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

US Oncology was created in June of this year by the merger of American Oncology Resources and Physician Reliance Network. With an expanding network of 770 oncologists and more than 300 practice sites and 59 cancer centers in 25 states, the company provides care for more than one of every 10 Americans being treated for cancer.

''National Specialty Services has a special focus on oncology practices and we are pleased to have the opportunity to tailor our efforts to serve the unique supply needs of US Oncology,'' said Harry J. Travis, vice president and general manager of NSS. ''By helping to streamline the medication and supply distribution process, we can help US Oncology save time and money, and enable their physicians and nurses to spend less time on logistics and more time with their patients.''

''Our PYXISSTATION® units will connect each US Oncology treatment center with National Specialty Services to help manage inventory and streamline the order-entry process,'' said Tom Bang, president, New Markets, for Pyxis. ''The system is designed to improve logistic and clinical efficiencies by integrating information throughout the US Oncology network.''

''The goal of our clinical and administrative team is to provide access to the highest quality cancer care and clinical research for patients and their families,'' said William McKeon, vice president of marketing for US Oncology. ''We chose National Specialty Services and Pyxis because of their outstanding reputations and the value their products and services will bring to our company.''

Cardinal Health, Inc., a Fortune 100 corporation based in Dublin, Ohio, is a leading provider of services supporting health care. Cardinal provides a broad array of complementary products and services to health-care providers and manufacturers to help them improve the efficiency and quality of health care. These services include pharmaceutical distribution (Cardinal Distribution and National Specialty Services, Inc.), health-care product manufacturing, distribution and consulting services (Allegiance Corporation), drug delivery systems development (R.P. Scherer Corporation), pharmaceutical packaging and repackaging (PCI Services, Inc. and National PharmPak Services, Inc.), automated dispensing systems manufacturing (Pyxis Corporation), hospital pharmacy management (Owen Healthcare, Inc.), retail pharmacy franchising (Medicine Shoppe International, Inc.) and health-care information systems development (Cardinal Information Corporation). The common stock of Cardinal Health, Inc. is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

xcept for historical information, all other information in this news release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Cardinal's Form 10-K, Form 8-K and Form 10-Q reports and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited to) the costs and difficulties related to the integration of acquired businesses, the loss of one or more key customer or supplier relationships, changes in the distribution outsourcing pattern for pharmaceutical products and/or services, and the costs and other effects of governmental regulation and legal and administrative proceedings. Cardinal undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Feedback: Media relations