Press Releases

McGaw Park, Ill., August 3, 2005 – Cardinal Health, Inc., (NYSE: CAH), the leading provider of products and services supporting the health care industry, was recently awarded a new three-year national agreement to provide respiratory therapy and anesthesia products to members of Premier, one of the nation’s largest health-care group purchasing organizations. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The three-year contract will give Premier’s nearly 1,500 hospital members access to the broadest range of respiratory therapy and anesthesia products in the health-care industry. It further strengthens Cardinal Health’s position as the leading supplier to the U.S. health care marketplace.

“We are pleased that Premier continues to demonstrate its faith in our long-term relationship by awarding us with this new contract,” said Thomas Bro, vice president of Health Systems for Cardinal Health’s Medical Products and Services group. “We have made great strides in growing our respiratory business and Premier members will benefit from the high service levels and vast array of products we offer.”
About Premier
Premier, Inc., a strategic alliance in U.S. healthcare, is owned by more than 200 of the nation's leading hospital and healthcare systems. These systems operate, or are affiliated with nearly 1,500 hospital facilities and hundreds of health care sites. Premier provides an array of resources in support of healthcare services, including group purchasing, with more than $21 billion in annual sales of supplies and equipment. Other resources offered by Premier include insurance programs and performance improvement services of many kinds. Premier is headquartered in San Diego, CA, with other major facilities in Chicago, IL and Charlotte, NC. Advocacy and policy offices are located in Washington, DC.

About Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc. (www.cardinalhealth.com) is the leading provider of products and services supporting the health care industry. Cardinal Health develops, manufactures, packages and markets products for patient care; develops drug-delivery technologies; distributes pharmaceuticals and medical, surgical and laboratory supplies; and offers consulting and other services that improve quality and efficiency in health care. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health employs more than 55,000 people on six continents and produces annual revenues of more than $65 billion.