Bergen Brunswig Announces Prime Vendor Partnership With Health Resources and Service Administration; Contract Represents Agency's First Ever Rx Prime Vendor Award.

ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 15, 1999--

Bergen Brunswig Drug Company (BBDC), a subsidiary of Bergen Brunswig Corporation (NYSE: BBC), today announced a new prime vendor partnership with the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) - a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the lead Health and Human Service agency for improving access to healthcare and related services for individuals and families nationwide.

Under the two-year contract, the first national prime vendor program to be awarded by HRSA's Office of Drug Pricing, Bergen will provide logistics management and value-added services to assist HRSA members in improving the efficiency of their product procurement. Through volume purchasing benefits and faster product turn around times, Bergen will also have the ability to help HRSA members reduce their inventory costs and thereby provide lower cost prescription drugs to low-income patients at community health centers, HIV/AIDS treatment and drug assistance programs, and safety net hospitals and clinics.

"We selected Bergen as our prime vendor because of their high service levels as well as their outstanding record of on-time delivery and customer satisfaction," said Jimmy R. Mitchell, R.Ph., MPH, MS, Director of HRSA's Office for Drug Pricing. "With Bergen as our distribution partner, we look forward to receiving technical assistance, reduced inventory costs and a consolidated distribution system that will deliver critical drugs to patients as they are needed."

According to Doug Swanson, president, health systems division for Bergen Brunswig Drug Company, the award validates the effectiveness of Bergen's distribution network as well as its success in providing consistently high service levels on a national level as prime vendor to other government agencies including the Department of Defense and the Veterans Affairs administration.

"In addition to our traditional logistics expertise that we will be able to bring to HRSA members, we are equally excited about this government agency's recognition of the enhanced value we can bring to their customers with services such as indigent patient assistance; an ambulatory pharmacy management program; patient satisfaction surveys; clinical pharmacy information systems; unit of use packaging; customized repackaging; and automation."

Both Bergen and HRSA expect a significant increase in program participation among HRSA's 12,000 members as a result of Bergen's role in facilitating an enhanced contract and service portfolio.

HRSA directs national health programs which improve the health of the nation by assuring quality healthcare to under-served, vulnerable and special-need populations and by promoting appropriate health professions workforce capacity and practice, particularly in primary care and public health.

Bergen Brunswig Corporation, headquartered in Orange County, California, is a leading supplier of pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical supplies and specialty healthcare products as well as information management solutions and consulting services. Bergen's customers include the nation's healthcare providers (hospitals, nursing homes, physicians), drug stores, manufacturers and patients. Through its subsidiaries, Bergen provides product distribution; logistics; pharmacy management programs; and Internet fulfillment strategies designed to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes across the entire healthcare spectrum.

Certain of the information set forth in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied. Such statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking language such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate" or "continue" or the negatives or other variations thereof or other similar terminology. Such risks and uncertainties include the risks described in exhibit 99 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended June 30, 1999 and in other reports and exhibits filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bergen Brunswig press releases are available on the company's website at www.bergenbrunswig.com.