Bergen Brunswig Awarded New Prime Vendor Agreement With U.S. Department of Defense.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2000

Bergen Brunswig Drug Company (BBDC), a subsidiary of Bergen Brunswig Corporation (NYSE:BBC), today announced a new prime vendor agreement under which it will supply pharmaceuticals to all facilities in Tricare Region Three of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), covering hospitals and bases in the nation's Southwest region including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The contract, for a 20-month period with two 20-month extensions, extends a similar previous five-year agreement with Tricare Three and is expected to generate approximately $560 million to Bergen over its lifetime.

Bergen is also the prime vendor for the DOD's Tricare Region Five in Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan, and was awarded prime vendor contracts in 1999 for Tricare Region Two, covering Virginia and North Carolina; and Tricare Region Four, covering Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle.

"Our customers appreciate Bergen's record of reliability as well as their outstanding customer service," said Linda Grugan, contracting officer for the DOD's Defense Supply Center Philadelphia. "Bergen's responsiveness enables our customers to meet emergency and other surge needs as they arise."

Noted Doug Swanson, president, health systems division, for Bergen Brunswig Drug Company, "We take great pride in serving the unique needs of the Department of Defense with the benchmark quality they expect. It is gratifying to be awarded one of the largest prime vendor contracts issued by the department to a pharmaceutical supplier, and we remain committed to providing them with the excellent service to which they are accustomed."

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 and 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, such as estimates regarding future sales and the impact of programs designed to enhance customers' revenues, 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(a) to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 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.