McKesson BioServices Signs Seven-year Contract Renewal to Operate NIAID Division of AIDS Clinical Research Center.

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 18, 1998--McKesson BioServices announced today that it has signed a seven-year contract renewal with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Division of AIDS, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to operate its Clinical Research Products Management Center (CRPMC), based in Rockville, Maryland. The CRPMC supports AIDS clinical research by providing for the storage and distribution of investigational agents used in NIAID-sponsored clinical trials. McKesson BioServices has operated the CRPMC under previous contracts since 1988.

"This seven-year contract extension reaffirms the high quality of service McKesson BioServices provides in managing the complex handling requirements of pharmaceutical and biotech agents that are being studied as potential treatments for HIV infection and AIDS," said Harrison Hoppes, Ph.D, president, McKesson BioServices. "We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with the NIH, and are proud to support researchers in their effort to advance new treatments for people with AIDS."

In its 10-year history of operation, the CRPMC has supported more than 450 clinical trials studying anti-HIV therapy in nearly 100,000 patients. Currently, it is providing drug and vaccine supplies for 80 clinical trials being conducted at leading university and community-based treatment centers throughout the world. The CRPMC also will support 40 additional clinical trials that are being planned. NIAID sponsors clinical trials for the Adult AIDS Clinical Trial Group, Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Group, Terry Beirn Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS, AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Group, and HIV Network for Prevention Trials.

"The Clinical Research Products Management Center staff has played a very important role in supporting the clinical trials that help validate new therapies to extend the lives of HIV-infected patients," said John Ferinde, senior vice president, McKesson BioServices and Principal Investigator for the Clinical Research Products Management Center. "These trials have helped drive clinical acceptance of combination anti-retroviral therapy, leading to a remarkable 47 percent reduction in the AIDS death rate in 1997."

In addition to operating the Clinical Research Products Management Center, since 1988 McKesson BioServices has operated the NIAID Division of AIDS global AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program. McKesson BioServices identifies, prioritizes and distributes the critical biological and chemical reagents needed by industry and institutional research scientists to study HIV and its associated opportunistic infections. In March 1998, McKesson BioServices renewed its contract to operate this program for another seven years.

McKesson BioServices provides biomedical support services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, the U.S. Government, universities, institutions and Contract Research Organizations. It provides a cost-effective and focused process for the clinical outsourcing of key functions in the "pre-approval" side of drug development, including: clinical supply management, formulation development, analytical testing, drug product packaging and labeling, pharmaceutical storage and distribution, patient-specific drug delivery, biological specimen storage and distribution, and regulatory affairs. McKesson BioServices is part of McKesson Pharmaceutical Services and International Group, which is focused on improving sales and marketing effectiveness for health care manufacturers and creating affiliation programs and information technologies for its retail customers. Its manufacturer programs include Patient Care Enhancing Programs to ensure patient compliance with appropriate pharmaceutical therapy, and McKesson Healthcare Delivery Systems, which performs an entire suite of specialized logistics and patient services for manufacturers.

McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 100 company, is the leading health care supplymanagement company in North America through its U.S. Health Care businesses; its Canadian subsidiary, Medis Health and Pharmaceutical Services; and its interest in Nadro of Mexico. The company also owns McKesson Water Products, one of the nation's largest providers of bottled drinking water. More information about McKesson and McKesson BioServices may be obtained on the World Wide Web at: http://www.mckesson.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These statements may be identified by their use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "should," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" and similar words. Risks and uncertainties include the speed of integration of acquired businesses, impact of continued competitive pressures, success of strategic initiatives, implementation of new technologies, continued industry consolidation, changes in customer mix, changes in pharmaceutical manufacturer's pricing and distribution policies, the changing U.S. health care environment and other factors discussed from time to time in reports filed by McKesson with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release.

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