Soma.com Hires Top Medical and Technical Talent To Bolster Online Pharmacy; Doctors Added to Local Executive Team As Soma.com Expands Staff and Offices After CVS Acquisition.SEATTLE--(BW HealthWire)--June 15, 1999-- Soma soma (sō`mə), psychotropic plant, the juice of which was sometimes drunk as part of the Vedic sacrifice (see Veda). Many hymns in the Rig-Veda are in praise of soma. .com, the online subsidiary of the nation's largest provider of prescriptions, CVS (1) (Concurrent Versions System) A version control system for Unix that was initially developed as a series of shell scripts in the mid-1980s. CVS maintains the changes between one source code version and another and stores all the changes in one file. Corporation (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :CVS), today announced two executives have been added to the local team, bolstering the medical and technical expertise within the online pharmacy  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. . Soma.com, the first Internet company to launch a pharmacy site and the only online drugstore with a fully automated, state-of-the-art fulfillment center, has lured this talent to its Seattle headquarters, where the company is currently preparing new office space for the tremendous staff growth. The recent CVS acquisition of soma.com enabled the company to attract talented executives and anticipate significant additional growth as it proceeds to strengthen both the online and real world consumer pharmacy offerings. The two latest additions to the soma.com team are Manish Bhandari, MD, vice president of corporate strategies and medical director; and Jason Ma, Ph.D., director of Web development. "Drs. Bhandari and Ma will be incredibility valuable contributors to our mission of providing customers with the highest quality and most trustworthy online pharmacy services as part of the nation's most trusted retail pharmacy," said soma.com President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Tom Pigott. As vice president of corporate strategies and soma.com's medical director, Dr. Bhandari's charter is to provide the best services and medical information to patients entrusting soma.com with their health needs. Dr. Bhandari aims to develop broader alliances with online medical destinations, medical associations and organizations to help make soma.com a leading resource for health care information. He will also oversee the weekly From the Pharmacist column on the site, which offers helpful advice on common health issues, such as this week's article, "Home Help For Minor Sprains And Strains Sprains and Strains Definition Sprain refers to damage or tearing of ligaments or a joint capsule. Strain refers to damage or tearing of a muscle. ." A graduate of Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is a prestigious American medical school located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. , Dr. Bhandari began his career as a practicing physician, treating both hospitalized patients and running an out-patient clinic from Rhode Island Hospital Rhode Island Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital located in Providence, Rhode Island. The hospital has 719 beds, and an acute care hospital and an academic medical center. Rhode Island Hospital was founded during the American Civil War in 1863. , Providence, RI. His medical experience served him well as a McKinsey & Co. consultant where he focused on building the health care practice and worked with various care providers, pharmaceutical and medical device corporations. His work was instrumental in improving the pharmacy and clinic operations for Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care organization, based in Oakland, California, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney R. Garfield. , CA, through business process redesign to increase efficiencies throughout the network of medical clinics and pharmacies. The soma.com Web development efforts will be lead by Dr. Ma. His initiatives are to develop powerful membership and personalization functionality, implement the ecommerce system architecture, integrate healthcare content, provide enhanced search capabilities for the site, and evolve the interface between various fulfillment centers. Previously, Dr. Ma was the lead technical architect at Fine.com International for the Marriott Vacation Club. Ma also held a position of associate professor in electrical engineering electrical engineering: see engineering. electrical engineering Branch of engineering concerned with the practical applications of electricity in all its forms, including those of electronics. for Taiwan's National Sun Yet-Sen University in Kaohsiung. Dr. Ma is a graduate of the University of Washington with masters and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and artificial intelligence. Soma.com continues to actively recruit top talent for positions throughout the company. To accommodate the significant increase in staff, soma.com will move into a new, 40,000 square-foot office space this fall, designed to be conducive to soma.com's business and to future expansion. The new soma.com headquarters remain in Seattle on Fourth Avenue. About Soma.com Soma.com, a subsidiary America's largest provider of prescriptions, CVS, is the nation's first complete Internet pharmacy internet pharmacy Online A website that offers prescription drugs from the comfort of home Cons The IP or prescribing physician may not be qualified or licensed to prescribe drugs in all states. See Operation Cure-All, VIPPS. . Launched in January 1999, soma.com provides 24-hour-a-day access to registered pharmacists via the Internet or toll-free telephone call, and next-day delivery of quality prescription, over-the-counter medications, and health and beauty products. Soma.com is an online destination for health-related purchases and information on health conditions and issues authored by licensed doctors and pharmacists. Soma.com was acquired in June 1999 by CVS in a merger that will bring customers the best-of-both-worlds convenience of online and offline pharmacy shopping. Soma.com will soon accept more than 9,000 insurance plans, offer more than 10,000 over-the-counter items at competitive prices, offer online or telephone ordering, and allow in-store pick-up or home delivery. About CVS CVS is the largest retail provider of prescriptions in the nation. The Company is the No. 1 drugstore chain in terms of store count, leading the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Midwest regions. General information about CVS, including corporate background and press releases, is available through CVS' web site at http://www.CVS.com. For more information about soma.com job opportunities, contact Chris Wilkey at 206/615-3142 or cwilkey@soma.com. For more information about soma.com visit the Web sites at www.soma.com. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. that are subject to risks and uncertainties for which the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements are discussed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. |
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