Bayer Divisional Agreements with PharMerica
Expanded to Now Include Diagnostics Division
ORANGE, Conn., and TAMPA, Fla., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayer Health Care
Partners and PharMerica, Inc. (Nasdaq: DOSE) jointly announced today that they
have signed a Corporate Agreement to include products manufactured by Bayer
Diagnostics, Bayer Pharmaceutical and Schein Pharmaceutical. The newly minted
Corporate Agreement, which is retroactive to September 1, 1998, extends to
2002.
Covered under the new agreement is Bayer Diagnostics' complete line of
blood glucose monitoring systems. Bayer Diagnostics is among the current
market leaders with the Glucometer(R) Elite and Glucometer(R) Encore Diabetes
Care systems. In addition to the Diagnostics agreement, existing agreements
for Bayer Pharmaceutical and Schein Pharmaceutical were also expanded.
"All of Bayer's blood glucose testing systems simplify monitoring of
diabetes and provide accurate results in seconds -- efficiencies that go a
long way in today's nursing facilities," said Janice Rutkowski, Senior Vice
President of PharMerica. "This best of the market technology, combined with
Bayer's formidable presence as one of our top pharmaceutical suppliers --
truly adds value to the services we provide to the 600,000 patients we serve.
Bayer Health Care Partners' `one voice' corporate representation makes our
business relationship efficient and helps us maintain a competitive
advantage," she said.
The expanded Schein agreement includes a number of solid dosage and
injectable products under contract, while the Bayer Pharmaceutical agreement
is enhanced to focus on clinically appropriate cost reduction methodologies.
Roy Catalano, Senior Executive for Corporate Resources at Bayer Health
Care Partners, spoke on the value of the deal. "We anticipate a total package
of over $40 million of Bayer product being utilized by PharMerica over the
life of the contract. With PharMerica, we have taken our longstanding
relationship and made it one step better," he said.
Len LaBonia, Vice President of Bayer Health Care Partners, added,
"Customer-supplier alliances are what Bayer Health Care Partners is all about.
In this new world of integrated partnering, shared business strategies and the
trust between customers and suppliers like Bayer and PharMerica will prove to
be of paramount importance," he also said.
PharMerica is a leading provider of pharmacy products and services serving
approximately 500,000 patients in long-term care and alternate site settings.
The company provides its services to patients in skilled nursing facilities,
assisted living facilities, residential and independent living communities,
specialty hospitals and the home setting. PharMerica and Bergen Brunswig
Corporation (NYSE: BBC) jointly announced on January 11, 1999, that they had
signed a definitive merger agreement for Bergen to acquire PharMerica. For
more information about PharMerica, visit PharMerica's web site at
http://www.pharmerica.com .
Bayer Corporation is a research-based company with major businesses in
health care and life sciences and chemicals. The company had 1998 sales of
$8.1 billion and employs more than 23,000 people. Bayer Corporation is
investing $15 billion in capital expenditures and research and development
from 1995 through the year 2004. 1999 capital investment and R&D expenditures
are projected to total $1.6 billion. Bayer Corporation, with headquarters in
Pittsburgh, is a member of the worldwide Bayer Group, a $31 billion chemicals
and health care group based in Leverkusen, Germany. For more information
about Bayer Corporation, visit Bayer's web site at http://www.bayerus.com .
Bayer Health Care Partners, headquartered in Orange, Conn., represents the
health care business of Bayer Corporation as well as Agfa and Schein
Pharmaceutical in strategic alliances and partnership arrangements with major
U.S. health care purveyors.
SOURCE Bayer Corporation
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.bayerus.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/092575.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 092575
CONTACT:
George Couto of Bayer Health Care Partners,
203-812-6612, or Charles O'Neil of PharMerica, 813-626-7788
|
