Exhibit 99.1
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AmerisourceBergen Corporation P.O. Box 959 Valley Forge, PA 19482 |
| Contact: | Michael N. Kilpatric | |
| 610-727-7118 | ||
| mkilpatric@amerisourcebergen.com |
AMERISOURCEBERGEN SIGNS AGREEMENTWITH DEA LEADINGTO
REINSTATEMENTOF ITS ORLANDO DISTRIBUTION CENTER’S SUSPENDED
LICENSETO DISTRIBUTE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. June 22, 2007— AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE: ABC) today signed an agreement with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) which is expected to lead to the reinstatement of its Orlando Distribution Center’s suspended license to distribute controlled substances on August 25, 2007 at 12:01 a.m. EDT. The reinstatement would allow the Distribution Center to resume shipment of controlled substances to its retail customers at that time.
The agreement requires the Company to implement an enhanced and more sophisticated order monitoring program in all AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation distribution centers by June 30, 2007, after which the Company must pass several DEA inspections of the new program for the reinstatement to become effective on the August date. The Company expects the new order monitoring program to quickly become the industry standard.
The Orlando facility’s license to distribute controlled substances was suspended April 24, 2007, because DEA alleged that the Orlando Distribution Center had not maintained effective controls against diversion of controlled substances, specifically hydrocodone, by retail internet pharmacies. The Orlando facility was given special dispensation to continue to distribute controlled substances to hospitals, clinics and U.S. Department of Defense facilities. As a result, the suspension affects the facility’s retail customers, who during the suspension are provided controlled substances by the Company’s distribution center in Columbus, Ohio.
The new order monitoring program requires more rapid identification and daily reporting of orders that may indicate diversion of controlled substances, including in some instances, halting the shipment of orders that require further investigation by the Company. The program also requires a more rigorous examination process before the delivery of controlled substances to newly signed customers.
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About AmerisourceBergen
AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC) is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical services companies serving the United States, Canada and selected global markets. Servicing both pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers in the pharmaceutical supply channel, the Company provides drug distribution and related services designed to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. AmerisourceBergen’s service solutions range from pharmacy automation and pharmaceutical packaging to pharmacy services for skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, reimbursement and pharmaceutical consulting services, and physician education. With more than $64 billion in annual revenue, AmerisourceBergen is headquartered in Valley Forge, PA, and employs more than 13,000 people. AmerisourceBergen is ranked #29 on the Fortune 500 list. For more information, go to www.amerisourcebergen.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release may contain certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from the expectations contained in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements: competitive pressures; the loss of one or more key customer or supplier relationships; customer defaults or insolvencies; changes in customer mix; supplier defaults or insolvencies; changes in pharmaceutical manufacturers’ pricing and distribution policies or practices; adverse resolution of any contract or other disputes with customers (including departments and agencies of the U.S. Government) or suppliers; regulatory changes (including increased government regulation of the pharmaceutical supply channel); government enforcement initiatives (including (i) the imposition of increased obligations upon pharmaceutical distributors to detect and prevent suspicious orders of controlled substances (ii) the commencement of further administrative actions by the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration seeking to suspend or revoke the license of any of the Company’s distribution facilities to distribute controlled substances, or (iii) the commencement of any enforcement actions by any U.S. Attorney alleging violation of laws and regulations regarding diversion of controlled substances and suspicious order monitoring); changes in U.S. government policies (including reimbursement changes arising from federal legislation, including the Medicare Modernization Act and the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005); changes in regulatory or clinical medical guidelines and/or reimbursement practices for the pharmaceuticals we distribute; price inflation in branded pharmaceuticals and price deflation in generics; declines in the amounts of market share rebates offered by pharmaceutical manufacturers to the PharMerica Long-Term Care business, declines in the amounts of rebates that the PharMerica Long-Term Care business can retain, and/or the inability of the business to offset the rebate reductions that have already occurred or any rebate reductions that may occur in the future; any disruption to or other adverse effects upon the PharMerica Long-Term Care business caused by the announcement of the Company’s agreement to combine the PharMerica Long-Term Care business with the institutional pharmacy business of Kindred Healthcare, Inc. into a new public company that will be owned 50% by the Company’s shareholders (the “PharMerica LTC Transaction”); the inability of the Company to successfully complete the PharMerica LTC Transaction or any other transaction that the Company may wish to pursue from time to time; fluctuations in market interest rates; operational or control issues arising from the Company’s outsourcing of information technology activities; success of integration, restructuring or systems initiatives; fluctuations in the U.S. dollar—Canadian dollar exchange rate and other foreign exchange rates; economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory developments in Canada, the United Kingdom and elsewhere outside of the United States; acquisition of businesses that do not perform as we expect or that are difficult for us to integrate or control; changes in tax legislation or adverse resolution of challenges to our tax positions; and other economic, business, competitive, legal, tax, regulatory and/or operational factors affecting the business of the Company generally. Certain additional factors that management believes could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements are set forth (i) in Item 1A (Risk Factors) in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006 and elsewhere in that report and (ii) in other reports filed by the Company pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
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