Bergen Brunswig Drug Company And Horton & Converse Pharmacies Announce New Six-Year Agreement; Chain Will Partner With Bergen To Enhance Patient Care in Southern California.

ORANGE, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 2, 1998--Bergen Brunswig Drug Company (BBDC), the largest subsidiary of Bergen Brunswig Corporation (NYSE: BBC), and Horton & Converse Pharmacies, today announced an expanded six-year, primary source agreement.

Under the new agreement, Bergen will continue to supply Horton & Converse Pharmacies with pharmaceutical, over-the-counter and home healthcare products. In addition, Horton & Converse will utilize Bergen's portfolio of retail programs and services, including the Generic Purchasing Program, Private Label program, PharmaHealth Natural Care Center, SharePlus market share program and Today's Healthcare line of home health products. Horton & Converse is also upgrading its pharmacy computer hardware and software to the PDX pharmacy system with PatientPlus/Total Rx software to facilitate disease state management and patient counseling.

"Horton & Converse, with its strong community standing, is a leader in customer service and patient focus as exemplified by its commitment to fill all prescriptions as quickly as possible, usually in 10 minutes or less," said Brent Martini, president of Bergen Brunswig Drug Company. "With this sweeping six-year agreement, we continue a long term partnership designed to support and complement Horton & Converse's goals to improve revenues and lower costs while advancing individualized and patient-focus care."

Commented Keith Lumpkin, president of his family-owned Horton & Converse Pharmacies, "We have been Bergen customers for more than 20 years and we look forward to continuing and improving our relationship. Under the PatientPlus program, our pharmacists will be counseling patients on their drug therapies for specific conditions, such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension. We will also be increasing our emphasis on natural pharmacy, herbals and homeopathy, as well as home medical equipment and supplies."

Horton & Converse is the largest privately-held retail pharmacy chain in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Its 14th location opened in September at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

Bergen Brunswig Corporation, a Fortune 200 company with annualized revenues of approximately $14 billion, is one of the nation's leading supply channel management companies. In addition to its diversified healthcare product offerings, the company offers innovative logistics management programs in pharmaceuticals and medical-surgical supplies to all healthcare venues. These programs are designed to help customers grow efficiently, improve their cost-effectiveness and further support their focus on patient/consumer care.

Bergen Brunswig press releases are available at no charge through the company's Faxline. To receive a directory of available releases, call [phone] and follow the voice-prompt instructions. You may also view the company's website at www.bergenbrunswig.com.