Bergen Brunswig Names Steve Collis to Company's Office of the President.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2000

Bergen Brunswig Corporation (NYSE:BBC) today announced it has named Steve Collis, president of its ASD Specialty Healthcare and Stadtlander subsidiaries, an officer of the corporation and appointed him to the Company's Office of the President. Collis will report directly to Robert E. Martini, the Company's CEO and Chairman of the Board.

"Steve has demonstrated admirable leadership qualities and great entrepreneurial innovation throughout his career with Bergen," Martini, said. "We look forward to bringing his enthusiasm and vision into the Office of the President."

Collis will join Charles J. Carpenter, president of Bergen's PharMerica subsidiary; Neil F. Dimick, Bergen's chief financial officer; and Brent R. Martini, president of Bergen Brunswig Drug Company to round out the office founded in 1997 to help facilitate company interaction and support Board objectives.

"The Office of the President is charged with an immediate goal of reducing costs by improving productivity and efficiency as well as assisting me in carrying out the mandates of Bergen's Board of Directors," said Martini.

Current Board mandates, Martini explained, include:

-- Halting further expansion of Bergen's business model;

-- Re-examining acquisitions to identify and quantify improvement

measures;

-- Focusing greater attention on core competencies;

-- Recommending the best alternatives to improve return on

under-performing assets.

Collis, whose responsibilities include managing ASD Specialty Healthcare, Stadtlander, Besse Medical, Oncology Supply and Medical Initiatives, joined Bergen as the first general manager of ASD shortly after its formation in 1994. Under his leadership, ASD's revenues grew to more than $1 billion within five years and has been Bergen's fastest-growing and most profitable subsidiaries. In addition, Collis was instrumental in the formation of PharmaBid.com, the industry's first Internet auction site for pharmaceuticals.

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.