Walgreens Awarded Exclusive Contract as Specialty Pharmacy Provider to Prime Therapeutics

Business Wire, March 24, 2008

Contract provides service to specialty pharmacy users among 20 million health plan members

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) (NASDAQ:WAG) will be the exclusive specialty pharmacy provider for Prime Therapeutics under a new, multi-year contract the companies have signed. Walgreens will provide the service through its Pittsburgh-based Medmark, A Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy.

Prime Therapeutics, based in St. Paul, Minn., is a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) collectively owned by 10 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, subsidiaries or affiliates of those plans. The contract serves specialty pharmacy users among more than 20 million health plan members.

"While we can't predict the exact value of this contract, the annual specialty pharmacy spending by Prime's total client base is significant," said Stanley B. Blaylock, President of Walgreens Health Services. "Our partnership with Prime gives us the opportunity to manage specialty pharmaceuticals that are covered under both the medical and pharmacy benefit. We believe many - if not most - of those plans will use our services through Prime over time.

"We also believe our independence from the major PBMs was a significant factor in winning Prime's business and will help us consistently win other contracts over the long term. Another significant factor for Prime was our proven quality and patient service that allows health management companies like Prime to stay focused on improving care and managing costs."

The services provided by Medmark, A Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy will be part of Prime Therapeutics' new Triessent([TM]) specialty pharmacy program.

"Prime believes the complexity of specialty pharmacy is too important to simply outsource," said Tom Solberg, assistant vice president of specialty pharmacy at Prime. "Medmark's proven track record complements Prime's existing core capabilities in specialty and pharmacy benefit management and will allow Prime to offer a complete specialty pharmacy program through Triessent. Prime is committed to providing a variety of solutions to help our clients manage specialty spend and strengthen their ability to compete effectively in the specialty marketplace with a complete solution."

Medmark, A Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy will provide Prime with medication fulfillment and complement Prime's existing patient education and clinical support services. Its pharmacists and nurses will counsel patients on the importance of medication adherence and the management of side effects.

"Our specialized, disease-focused teams coordinate care as part of our patient-focused clinical programs," said Blaylock. "By focusing on customer service, we've scored 98 percent patient satisfaction rates for all of our services as measured by CJ Olson Market Research Inc."

Medmark, A Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy will serve Prime's members through central-fill facilities that are supported by Walgreens local retail and home care locations.

Medmark, A Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy was acquired in August 2006 by Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2007 sales of $53.8 billion. Walgreens operates 6,237 stores in 49 states and Puerto Rico, and is expanding its patient-first health care services beyond traditional pharmacy through Walgreens Health Services, its managed care division, and Take Care Health Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary that manages 146 convenient care clinics at Walgreens drugstores. Walgreens Health Services assists pharmacy patients and prescription drug and medical plans through Walgreens Health Initiatives Inc. (a pharmacy benefit manager), Walgreens Mail Service Inc., Walgreens Home Care Inc., Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy LLC and SeniorMed LLC (a pharmacy provider to long-term care facilities). More information about Walgreens is available at Walgreens.com.