Aetna Specialty Pharmacy To Open Distribution Center March 1; Aetna and Priority Healthcare Joint Venture Opens On Schedule.

HARTFORD, Conn. & LAKE MARY, Fla. -- Aetna Specialty Pharmacy(SM), the joint venture between Aetna (NYSE:AET) and Priority Healthcare Corporation (Nasdaq:PHCC), will open for business in its 63,000-square-foot specialty pharmacy distribution center on March 1. Aetna Specialty Pharmacy will ramp up production so that all Aetna members who receive specialty medications can be served by the new business by the third quarter of 2005.

The new specialty pharmacy distribution center located in Orlando, Fla., will be Aetna's preferred provider for specialty pharmacy and biomedical distribution services. In addition, the venture will give Aetna Specialty Pharmacy access to therapies that have been on limited or closed distribution in the past. The specialized medications from the joint venture are used for treating the chronically ill who suffer from conditions such as cancer, hemophilia, hepatitis, immune deficiency, infertility, multiple sclerosis and pulmonary diseases.

"This business will help strengthen our capacity to work with doctors to help facilitate quality care and deliver outstanding pharmacy service while seeking to manage medical costs for the chronically ill by integrating medical and pharmacy in a strategic way," said Eric Elliott, head of Aetna Pharmacy Management. "In addition, this venture enhances our product and service capabilities, and increases our ability to serve new market segments."

Rebecca Shanahan, Executive Vice President of Priority Healthcare and General Manager of Aetna Specialty Pharmacy, said, "Aetna Specialty Pharmacy will provide service to physicians and Aetna members throughout the nation. This launch represents the culmination of a six-month integration of Priority's advanced clinical programs with Aetna medical and pharmacy areas. The result is a platform that provides clinical quality through seamless pharmacy management regardless of benefit design. Our business will continue to innovate to provide maximum benefits to physicians and manufacturers while remaining focused on managing members' complex health care through clinical information, support and intervention by clinical specialists."

As it opens, Aetna Specialty Pharmacy employs 50 pharmacists and clinical specialists to service prescribing physicians and support Aetna members. At the core of Aetna Specialty Pharmacy are disease-specific treatment programs that bring an experienced team devoted to the care of the patient, including patient care coordinators, pharmacists and registered nurses who are trained in complex therapies. These teams are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service is integrated with the medical and pharmacy benefits of Aetna members.

The facility is expected to have 250 full-time associates by the end of the year. Aetna and Priority Healthcare have also assembled a new management team to run the business, led by Shanahan.

Going forward, the business is focused on building a best-in-class specialty pharmacy platform that will provide Aetna and Priority Healthcare with improved buying relationships that should lead to reduced health care costs and the delivery of comprehensive clinical program management for members. In 2004, Aetna spent more than $1 billion on specialty pharmaceuticals, and it is an area of pharmacy costs experiencing a national growth rate in excess of 20 percent per year.

As one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its approximately 13.7 million medical members, 11.9 million dental members, 8.4 million pharmacy members and 13.5 million group insurance members to help them make better informed decisions about their health care and protect their finances against health-related risks. Aetna provides easy access to cost-effective health care through a nationwide network of more than 655,000 health care professionals, including over 390,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 3,937 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of December 31, 2004)

Priority Healthcare is the premier healthcare services company providing innovative, high quality and cost-effective solutions that enhance quality of life. As a national specialty pharmacy and distributor, Priority Healthcare provides biopharmaceuticals, complex therapies, related disease treatment programs and a portfolio of other service offerings for patients, payors, physicians and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The growing number of specialty areas serviced by Priority Healthcare include oncology, gastroenterology, reproductive endocrinology, neurology, hematology, pulmonology, ophthalmology, rheumatology, endocrinology, infectious disease and nephrology, as well as ambulatory surgery centers. Additional information regarding Priority Healthcare is available online at www.priorityhealthcare.com.