(ABT)(MDT) Major Medical Products and Services Companies Establish Global Healthcare Exchange.Business/Health Editors & Assignment Desk REPEATING... NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2000 Exchange will make it faster, easier and less expensive for healthcare customers and companies to conduct business Johnson & Johnson, GE Medical Systems, Baxter International Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX), is a global healthcare company with 48,000 employees and 2006 sales of US$10.4 billion. Its headquarters is in Deerfield, Illinois. Inc., Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is a diversified pharmaceuticals and health care company. It has over 65,000 employees and operates in 130 countries. The corporate headquarters are in Abbott Park, Illinois, a neighborhood of North Chicago, Illinois. and Medtronic, Inc. announced today that they are creating a global healthcare exchange that will be an independent Internet-based company. This new privately-held trading exchange will help healthcare providers make quicker, more efficient purchasing decisions by simplifying business processes and providing a single source for customers' healthcare purchases. "Every healthcare system around the world is under enormous pressure to create efficiency and take out costs," said James T. Lenehan, worldwide chairman, Medical Devices, Diagnostics, and Health Systems Group, Johnson & Johnson. "This exchange is a big part of the solution--access to state-of-the-art supply chain management and clinical content without the capital expense." "Healthcare requires the speed of the Internet and the staying power of trusted, experienced industry leaders. This venture combines both, and is the perfect extension to our long-standing customer relationships. We all have a stake in the future of healthcare," said Jeff Immelt, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , GE Medical Systems. The independent on-line enterprise will facilitate the exchange of information related to buying, selling and distributing medical equipment, devices and healthcare products and related services worldwide, and also provide access to extensive clinical content. It will provide equal access to all healthcare manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, providers, group purchasing organizations A group purchasing organization is an entity that leverages the purchasing power of a group of businesses to obtain discounts from vendors based on the collective buying power of the GPO members. Many GPOs are funded by administrative fees that are actually paid by the vendors. and other healthcare trading partners. "This new on-line exchange has the potential of dramatically reducing the number of technology systems that we currently need to procure To cause something to happen; to find and obtain something or someone. Procure refers to commencing a proceeding; bringing about a result; persuading, inducing, or causing a person to do a particular act; obtaining possession or control over an item; or making a person and purchase products, and providing access to accurate and timely information. It should save time and money, and enhance our focus on what we do best--providing the best possible care for our patients," said William J. Donelan, executive vice president, Duke University Health System. "Our bottom line is providing the best possible patient care, and we need trusted suppliers to help us meet that objective. That is why we look to companies like those involved in the exchange for solutions," said Robert W. Carretta, vice president, Saint Barnabas Health Care System. The exchange is being established with equity investments by the founding companies. There will be no transaction fees paid by customers for products bought through the exchange. The exchange's operations will be funded by participating suppliers. Open Exchange Will Offer Broad Portfolio The healthcare industry spends an estimated $100 billion annually in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. alone on products and services. By adding products of other manufacturers and service suppliers as the exchange develops, the exchange will broaden its diverse product offering and provide a dynamic and comprehensive portfolio. At launch, it will offer the majority of products and services used by healthcare providers to provide patient care. The goal of the exchange is to offer product breadth and choice representing nearly everything that is needed by healthcare customers. Exchange to Expand Globally The first generation of the exchange will go "live" in the third quarter of 2000. Although the exchange will focus initially on serving customers in the U.S., it will rapidly expand and support healthcare providers globally in 2001. When it is launched, the exchange will offer on-line ordering with customer-directed distribution; on-line inquiry of order status; on-line order confirmation; product catalogues and access to correct contract terms. Soon after, the exchange will feature value-added services A value-added service (VAS) is a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. such as clinical information on a broad-range of products. The headquarters of the new company will be in Chicago. The founding members expect to select a management team within the next several weeks. The exchange will be supported by the combined resources of GE Global Exchange Services, and the strategic alliance between Ariba (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : ARBA), IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : IBM), and i2 (NASDAQ: ITWO ITWO I2 Technologies (stock abbreviation, AMEX) ). Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ JNJ Johnson and Johnson (stock symbol) JNJ Journal of Nursing Jocularity ), GE Medical Systems (NYSE: GE), Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT ABT About ABT Abteilung (German: Department) ABT Abbott Laboratories (stock symbol) ABT American Ballet Theatre ABT Associação Brasileira de Telemarketing ABT Abort ABT Availability Based Tariff ) and Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT MDT abbr. Mountain Daylight Time MDT (in the US and Canada) Mountain Daylight Time MDT n abbr (US) (= mountain daylight time) → ) are equal shareholders in the privately- held company. Information in this release may involve expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. The statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Numerous factors could cause or contribute to such differences. The formation and terms of the new venture are subject to various contingencies, including the negotiation of binding agreements. For more information visit http://www.nyse.com/events/NT0004D532.html The global trading exchange can be reached at 800-377-2928 Telephone Press Briefing: 11:00 a.m., EDT EDT abbr. Eastern Daylight Time EDT Eastern Daylight Time EDT n abbr (US) (= Eastern Daylight Time) → hora de verano de Nueva York EDT Wednesday 3/29/00 800-377-4743 Confirmation no. 5941552 Media Contact: Patty Bifulco Hill & Knowlton (212) 885-0494 Company contacts: Johnson & Johnson Media Relations: Jeff Leebaw, 732-524-3350 Investor Relations: Helen Short, 732-524-6491 GE Medical Systems Media Relations: Charlie Young, pager: 888-864-3332; cell phone: 414-870-2866 Investor Relations: Mark Vachon, 203-373-2468 Baxter International Inc. Media Relations: Mary Thomas, pager, 847-948-2815 Investor Relations: Neville Jeharajah, 847-948-2875 Abbott Laboratories Media Relations: Rhonda Luniak, pager: 888-460-3063; 847-938-9725 Investor Relations: John Thomas, 847-938-2655 Medtronic, Inc. Media Relations: Diana Campau, pager: 888-790-0650; 615-514-4920 Investor Relations: Kevin Lee, 612-514-7750 |
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