Medco Chooses AllPoints at Anson in Whitestown, Indiana as Site for the World's Largest, Most-Advanced Automated Pharmacy

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medco Health Solutions, Inc. , one of the nation's leading pharmacy benefit managers, today announced that AllPoints at Anson in Whitestown, Indiana, will be the home of world's largest and most-advanced automated pharmacy, capping a nearly year-long search that spanned 48 states.

Medco selected Anson after narrowing its selections in early November to three different counties in central Indiana, where 1,300 new jobs will be created.

"We found all of the potential locations attractive for the facility. However, Anson stood out because of the attractive proposal and feature-rich site provided by developers Browning Investments and Duke Realty. There is a nice parallel between the Medco Therapeutic Resource Centers(TM) and the Anson planned community concept to create a new center of commercial, residential and civic activity in the region," said Medco President and Chief Operating Officer Kenny Klepper. "Anson will now be home to the pharmacy of the future -- a facility that uses the best of automation to safely dispense medications."

Medco also announced today that Richard P. Jones II will be vice president and general manager (VPGM) of the planned $140 million pharmacy, which takes up an area equal to six and a half football fields and will use its technology to safely meet growing nationwide demand for lower cost medicines. Jones, currently the VPGM of Medco's Las Vegas Prescription Dispensing Pharmacy, is a seasoned veteran with more than 20 years of Medco pharmacy experience.

"To be part of the development of our newest automated pharmacy from the ground up is a great opportunity. Medco is taking breakthroughs in science and technology to add a level of specialization and personalization to pharmacy care that is unique to the industry," said Jones.

AllPoints at Anson, a joint venture between Browning Investments and Duke Realty Corporation, is a 616-acre development that will eventually be home to 7.4 million square feet of industrial space. It's located on the north campus of Duke's 1,700 acre mixed use, planned community in southern Boone County.

"The growth and development of Medco will mirror the growth and development of Anson, where employees can work, live, shop, and play in one place that's designed around their needs. We truly believe that AllPoints at Anson offers them more than just a site; it gives them a stake in a thriving new community," said Tom Dickey, Vice President and General Manager of Anson.

Medco finalized terms to buy the 28-acre parcel in Anson, which is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Anson Boulevard and County Route 450, and Browning-Duke plans to start construction in the spring of 2008. This new pharmacy is expected to dispense up to one million prescriptions a week at greater than Six-Sigma(R) accuracy from its use of robotics, bar code scanners and sophisticated information technology networks, complementing Medco's automated mail facilities in Las Vegas and Willingboro, N.J.

The state's business-friendly environment, modern transportation infrastructure, skilled labor pool and proximity to several schools of pharmacy, including Butler University, Purdue University and Ivy Tech, were notable factors in the site selection process. The next-generation mail-order facility will employ pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, engineers, pharmacy support, managers and other staff.

"The low property taxes in Whitestown and the quality and low cost of utilities in Boone County were also a contributing factor to the final decision," said Boone County Economic Development Corporation's executive director Kristie McKillip.

Medco intends to provide competitive salaries and a comprehensive employee benefit package for a wide range of positions. Hiring is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2008, with the majority of the hiring expected in 2010 and 2011.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Medco up to $18.25 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $850,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. Boone County offered a $5 million cash grant for infrastructure and technology purchases. The town of Whitestown offered $7.8 million in property tax abatements, made possible through a state program.

The Indy Partnership, Central Indiana's local economic development organization, and BioCrossroads, Indiana's initiative to grow the life sciences, partnered with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to coordinate Indiana's pursuit of the Medco investment. The Boone County Economic Development Corporation played a critical role in coordinating local incentives.

Transforming the Practice of Pharmacy

Coupled with its unparalleled dispensing pharmacy practice, Medco has created an industry leading end-to-end specialized pharmacy practice model.

Medco is leading the way by transforming pharmacy care from a "generalist" practice to a "specialist" practice. Specially trained pharmacists are becoming experts in different disease states to better serve members' with chronic and complex conditions. Specialization allows pharmacists to fully engage Medco members with a greater understanding of their medical conditions, assist them with potential side effects from their treatments, and provide more comprehensive counsel to help ensure members are on the right medication, the right dose and are adhering to their treatment to ensure the best result.

"Medco believes in the importance of integrating the latest advancements in science and technology that are leading toward personalized medicine into the services it provides to clients and members," Klepper said. "We can no longer take a broad-brush approach to pharmacy.

The Medco Therapeutic Resource Centers are staffed with hundreds of pharmacists who receive specialized training in specific chronic conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and asthma. This focuses the pharmacists' energy on improving patient health outcomes."

Medco's two existing automated dispensing pharmacies in Willingboro, N.J. and Las Vegas dispensed 90 percent of the company's mail-order prescriptions in 2006. Medco's automated pharmacies currently have the capacity to fill more than 2 million prescriptions per week. Medco opened the world's first fully automated pharmacy in Las Vegas in October 1996 and the world's then- largest pharmacy with 280,000 square feet in Willingboro in 2001.

Reflecting the company's innovations in the field of pharmacy benefit management, Medco holds 17 U.S. patents for patient data management, front-end pharmacy technology and automated pharmacy technology. Medco also has 35 domestic and international patents pending for the application of various technologies, 18 of which are for its automated pharmacies.

About Medco

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. is the nation's leading pharmacy benefit manager based on its 2006 total net revenues of more than $42 billion. Medco's prescription drug benefit programs, covering one in five Americans, are designed to drive down the cost of pharmacy health care for private and public employers, health plans, labor unions and government agencies of all sizes, and for individuals served by the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program. Medco, the world's most advanced pharmacy(TM) has created Therapeutic Resource Centers(TM) that are staffed with hundreds of specialist pharmacists trained and certified in specific chronic and complex conditions and have expertise in the medications that treat them. Medco is the nation's largest diabetes pharmacy care practice based on covered lives with the 2007 acquisition of the Liberty Medical, and the largest specialty pharmacy based on net revenues with the 2005 acquisition of Accredo Health, Incorporated. Medco is the highest-ranked independent pharmacy benefit manager on the 2007 Fortune 500 list. On the Net: http://www.medco.com/.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward- looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties that affect our business, particularly those mentioned in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.