Cardinal Health Taps Teva Executive George Barrett to Lead Healthcare Supply Chain Services Sector

DUBLIN, Ohio, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cardinal Health, a global provider of products and services that improve the safety and productivity of health care, today announced that George S. Barrett, chief executive officer (CEO) of Teva North America, will join the company as vice chairman of Cardinal Health and CEO of its Healthcare Supply Chain Services sector.

Barrett, 52, will join the company at the end of January and report to Chairman and CEO R. Kerry Clark. He served as corporate executive vice president of Teva's Global Pharmaceutical Markets since January 2007, as well as CEO of Teva North America since January 2005. He was president and CEO of Teva USA from 1999 to 2004.

David L. Schlotterbeck, 60, has also been named vice chairman in addition to his role as CEO of the company's Clinical and Medical Products sector. This sector includes the company's market-leading intravenous infusion, automated dispensing and respiratory systems, and infection prevention products.

"I am very pleased to welcome George to Cardinal Health," Clark said. "His strategic leadership, deep operational experience and outstanding global knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry will help us on our path to becoming the premier global health care company. I am also very grateful to our CFO Jeff Henderson for his strong, interim leadership of the supply chain business during the past three months."

Barrett will be responsible for all of Cardinal Health's supply chain businesses, which comprise the nation's largest distributor of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to retail and independent pharmacies, hospitals, laboratories and physician offices. This sector operates more than 70 distribution centers, 160 nuclear pharmacies and six surgical kitting facilities. In its most recent fiscal year, the supply chain sector contributed 70 percent of Cardinal Health's consolidated profit.

"Cardinal Health has so many touch points to our health care system, and has a great opportunity to influence the way in which health care is delivered," Barrett said. "I look forward with excitement to this challenge."

Healthcare Supply Chain Services is Cardinal Health's largest sector, distributing products from 3,000 manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment to pharmacies, hospitals, clinics and lab customers every day. In fiscal 2007, the company reported $76.6 billion in revenue from pharmaceutical supply chain services and $7.5 billion in revenue from medical supply chain services.

Prior to joining Teva in 1999, Barrett served as CEO of Diad Research, a technology start-up. From 1990 to 1997, he held various senior management positions with pharmaceutical companies Alpharma Inc. and NMC Laboratories. Barrett is a past chairman of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association and is on the board of ambassadors of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine's Project Restore. He received his bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1977 and his master's degree in Business Administration from New York University in 1988.

About Cardinal Health

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. is an $87 billion, global company serving the health care industry with products and services that help hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies reduce costs, improve safety, productivity and profitability, and deliver better care to patients. With a focus on making supply chains more efficient, reducing hospital-acquired infections and breaking the cycle of harmful medication errors, Cardinal Health develops market leading technologies, including Alaris(R) IV pumps, Pyxis(R) automated dispensing systems, MedMined(TM) infection surveillance services and the CareFusion(TM) patient identification system. The company also manufactures medical and surgical products and is one of the largest distributors of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies worldwide. Ranked No. 19 on the Fortune 500 and No. 1 in its sector on Fortune's ranking of Most Admired firms, Cardinal Health employs more than 40,000 people on five continents. More information about the company may be found at http://www.cardinalhealth.com/.