Omnicare, Cardinal Enter Repackaging Pact

Omnicare, Inc. has entered into an agreement for the repackaging services division of Cardinal Health to serve as the contract repackager for pharmaceutical repackaging volumes that were previously produced at Omnicare’s Heartland Repack Services facility in Toledo, OH. The agreement initially runs through October 2010. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to be partnering with Cardinal Health, whose operations are regarded as highly efficient,” said Joel F. Gemunder, Omnicare’s president and chief executive officer. “We believe this is an attractive alternative to opening our own new repackaging facility. Through this agreement, we believe that we will restore our repackaging capacity quickly and on a cost-effective basis while being able to redirect resources to other planned growth initiatives over the coming year.”

“Cardinal Health is pleased to grow our business with Omnicare through our repackaging facility in Zanesville,” said Mark Parrish, chief executive officer of healthcare supply chain services for Cardinal Health. “Through this agreement, we’re looking forward to helping Omnicare continue to drive supply chain productivity and efficiency for its customers.”

Omnicare discontinued its Heartland repackaging operation during the third quarter of 2006. Omnicare will continue to operate its Vangard repackaging facility, located in Glasgow, KY, and maintain its repackage abilities, when needed, at its local pharmacies.