CVS Holds Annual Shareholder Meeting.

Business Editors

WOONSOCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2003

Chairman Tom Ryan Presides Over Upbeat Gathering - Company Marks 40th Anniversary - CVS Expansion Plans on Track for 2003

CVS/pharmacy (CVS:NYSE) today held its annual shareholder meeting at its Store Support Center in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. CVS Chairman, President and CEO, Tom Ryan, presided over the annual meeting, which resulted in the reelection of the proposed slate of Directors and approved the appointment of KPMG LLP as CVS' auditors for the year ending January 3, 2004.

Ryan used the meeting to mark the company's 40th anniversary and to review the company's tremendous growth and prosperity since the company went public in 1996. Among the highlights Ryan mentioned were the following accomplishments:

-- 5-fold top line growth since 1996 to $24+ Billion in sales

-- A #1 or #2 position in over two-thirds of the top drugstore

markets in the U.S. where CVS operates

-- More than 800 24-hour and extended hour stores

-- Over 1,700 stores with drive-thru pharmacies

-- Continued expansion into new markets such as Florida, Chicago,

Phoenix, Texas and Las Vegas

-- Continued expectation to open 250-275 stores in 2003

-- Strong holiday-related sales (Valentines Day and Easter) in

2003

-- The largest loyalty card program in America, ExtraCare

"I'm very enthusiastic about the long term growth of our industry. Retail pharmacy sales are expected to double by 2008 from $192 Billion in 2002 to $400 Billion by 2008. While our industry remains vibrant for the long term, we have experienced a softening of sales in both the front store and pharmacy in the past few months. We believe this is a cyclical situation and not a structural change for our industry," said Ryan.

CVS is America's #1 pharmacy dispensing prescriptions in more stores than any other retailer. CVS has created innovative approaches to serve the healthcare needs of all customers through its approximately 4,100 CVS/pharmacy(R) stores; CVS.com(R), its online pharmacy; and PharmaCare Management Services, its pharmacy benefit management and specialty pharmacy business. General information about CVS is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's website, at http://investor.cvs.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For these statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company strongly recommends that you become familiar with the specific risks and uncertainties outlined under the caption "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the annual period ended December 28, 2002.