Allergan Enters Into Strategic Partnership Agreement With Allegiance in Europe/Africa/Middle East.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 31, 2000

Allergan (NYSE:AGN) announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement in Europe, Africa and the Middle East with Allegiance Sante S.A., a subsidiary of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH).

In the agreement, Allergan will sell to Allegiance certain ophthalmic surgical products for inclusion in jointly labeled Allergan and Allegiance Custom Sterile Surgical Procedure Packs. Allegiance will be responsible for the manufacture and distribution of the packs, and the two companies will co-market the packs to ophthalmic surgery specialists throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

"Our new partnership will offer a wider range of products and services than most other companies in the ophthalmic business," said Dr. Holger Heidrich, Senior Vice President, Allergan Surgical, Europe/Africa/Middle East. "Together, we can bring our expertise to every member of the ophthalmology surgery team, not just the surgeon."

Allergan and Allegiance are able to offer total ophthalmic surgery programs in partnership with customers, based on the strengths of both companies and on individual hospital needs.

"Being a specialist in the design and manufacture of highly technical surgical devices is different than being expert at getting all of the other surgical materials in and out of the hands of healthcare professionals at just the right time," said Eric Grenier, Vice President of Allegiance Custom Sterile, International. "It is difficult for a single company to excel at all of these things. It requires unbelievable flexibility which we, together, as experts in both ophthalmology and custom procedure packs, can combine."

"And more flexibility means better solutions for our customers," Dr. Heidrich added.

Allergan, Inc., headquartered in Irvine, California, (www.allergan.com) is a technology-driven global health care company providing eye care and specialty pharmaceutical products worldwide. Allergan develops and commercializes products in the eye care pharmaceutical, ophthalmic surgical device, contact lens care, movement disorder, and dermatological markets that deliver value to its customers, satisfy unmet medical needs and improve patients' lives.

Cardinal Health, Inc., headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, (www.cardinal.com) is a leading provider of products and services supporting the health care industry. Cardinal companies develop, manufacture, package and market products for patient care; develop drug-delivery technologies; distribute pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical and laboratory supplies; and offer consulting and other services that improve quality and efficiency in health care.

Allegiance Corporation, a Cardinal Health company based in McGaw Park, Illinois, manufactures many of the medical-surgical products it markets and distributes, while others come from health and medical companies around the world. Custom Sterile procedure packs, containing all of the disposable components required for a specific surgery, are manufactured in the United States, France, Holland, and Australia.

Allergan's Forward-Looking Statement 

Any of the above statements that refer to the company's estimated or anticipated future results are forward-looking and reflect the company's current analysis of existing trends and information. Actual results may differ from current expectations based on a number of factors affecting Allergan's businesses, including competitive conditions and changing market conditions, product performance and uncertainty regarding market acceptance of and demand for surgical procedural packs. These forward-looking statements represent the company's judgment only as of the date of this press release. Actual results could differ materially from those described in this release. As a result, the reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. The company disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Additional information concerning these factors can be found in press releases as well as in the company's public periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the discussion under the heading "Certain Factors and Trends Affecting Business" in the company's 1999 Form 10-K and its subsequent Form 10-Qs. Copies of company press releases and additional information about Allergan are available on our Web Site at www.allergan.com, or you can contact our Investor Relations Department by calling [phone]-4636.

Cardinal Health's Forward-Looking Statement

Except 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 health care products and/or services, and the costs and other effects of governmental regulation and legal and administrative proceedings. Cardinal undertakes no obligation to update or

revise any forward-looking statements.