American Pharmaceutical Partners Leads Industry With Patient Safety-Enhancement Commitment To Barcoding.

Business Editors, Health Writers

ASHP 

booth no. 444

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 2002

- APP To Complete Barcoding Initiative by Manufacturing Its

Hospital Injectable Lines With Individual-Unit-Of-Use

Barcodes Beginning January 1, 2003 -

American Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (APP) (NASDAQ: APPX), led the pharmaceutical industry with its commitment to enhancing patient safety and reducing medication errors in hospitals by being the first company to apply barcodes at the unit-of-use level to all new injectable products launched in 2001, including the smallest 2mL vials. APP continued this patient quality enhancement effort throughout 2002. With 70% of APP's products already barcoded, APP now reaffirms its commitment to complete this initiative. The company expects to be manufacturing the remaining hospital injectables with barcodes by January 1, 2003. This goal significantly exceeds the requirements and expectations of both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO's).

Earlier this year, the FDA proposed a ruling to mandate barcode labeling on all human drug products (including biological) and medical devices to significantly help reduce the risks associated with the most common types of medication errors - the wrong medication being administered, it being administered at the wrong time or it being skipped altogether.

"The majority of drugs administered in hospitals are by injection, and as one of the largest producers of injectable therapeutics in the U.S., we feel it is imperative that we do our part to help address the issue of improving patient safety," said Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We have committed to GPO's and hospitals alike to have our barcoding initiative completed by January 1, 2003."

"American Pharmaceutical Partners' reaffirmation of its commitment to patient safety by barcoding its entire injectable line is an important victory for hospitals undertaking point-of-care barcoding initiatives," said Michael R. Cohen, president of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.

Establishing a system-wide barcoding initiative within a healthcare facility is a huge undertaking that requires the commitment of already scarce monetary and human resources. To make the implementation as seamless and cost-efficient as possible for its customers, two years ago APP decided to begin incorporating barcodes on drug vials at the individual unit-of-use level with the most common symbology used today--UPC. This symbology, used in every industry from grocery stores to consumer goods since the 1970's, is the industry standard and therefore is compatible with virtually all barcode scanners currently on the market.

One institution, Carilion Health System, a not-for-profit hospital system that serves approximately one million people in West Virginia, has already begun barcoding all products within one of its cardiac units in November of 2001. For all products that come in without a barcode, one has to be created on site. With APP's products already barcoded at the unit-of-use level, it is saving Carilion significant time.

"Our experience with barcoding has demonstrated many advantages, the most important being improved patient safety," said Carilion spokesperson Eric Earnhart. "Our wireless system has also improved staff efficiency and effectiveness by eliminating paperwork and allowing nurses to spend more time at the bedside."

In its continued commitment to the industry-wide initiative to enhance patient safety and help reduce medication errors, APP will also introduce two new devices, Steri-Tamp (TM) (a true tamper evident seal) and the Quali-Quick QC Tester (a quality control device that tests for bacterial contamination in the pharmacy).

About American Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc.

American Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (APP) is a specialty drug company that develops, manufactures and markets injectable pharmaceutical products, focusing on the oncology, anti-infective and critical care markets. The company is one of the largest producers of injectables, with more than 120 generic products in more than 350 dosages and formulations. Additionally, APP has acquired the exclusive North American rights to manufacture and market a proprietary injectable oncology product, currently in advanced clinical trials and being studied in a variety of cancers. For more information, visit APP's Web site at www.appdrugs.com.

Statements contained in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements, as the term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, whether expressed or implied, are subject to risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated, due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation, the difficulty in predicting the timing or outcome of product development efforts and FDA or other regulatory approvals or actions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the availability and pricing of ingredients used in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products, the ability to successfully manufacture products in a time-sensitive and cost effective manner, the acceptance and demand of new pharmaceutical products, the impact of patents and other proprietary rights held by competitors and other third parties, and other risk factors discussed in the Company's Form 10K dated December 31, 2001 and documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.