Omnicare Completes Acquisition of excelleRx

"We are pleased to announce the completion of our acquisition ofexcelleRx, as it significantly enhances Omnicare's position in therapidly expanding hospice market," said Joel F. Gemunder, presidentand chief executive officer of Omnicare. "As important, itssophisticated technology and call center infrastructure, together withits clinical resources and expertise, will serve as a strong platformfor the expansion of our pharmaceutical care and disease managementcapabilities in the broader marketplace."

ExcelleRx, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, providespharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical care services forapproximately 400 hospice agencies with approximately 48,000 patientsin 46 states. Through three state-of-the-art call centers inPhiladelphia, Memphis and Phoenix, excelleRx pharmacists and clientsupport staff work with hospice nurses and physicians to provideclinical consultations and process patient medication orders.ExcelleRx fulfills prescription orders through its two mail servicepharmacies in Philadelphia and Memphis and through a network ofpharmacies throughout the U.S. Total revenues for excelleRx arecurrently running at the annualized rate of approximately $130million.

About Omnicare, Inc.

Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE:OCR), a Fortune 500 company based inCovington, Kentucky, is a leading provider of pharmaceutical care forthe elderly. Omnicare now serves residents in long-term carefacilities comprising approximately 1,400,000 beds in 47 states, theDistrict of Columbia and Canada, making it the largest U.S. providerof professional pharmacy, related consulting and data managementservices for skilled nursing, assisted living and other institutionalhealthcare providers. Omnicare also provides clinical researchservices for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in 30countries worldwide.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release concerning Omnicare's andexcelleRx's business outlook or future economic performances,anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses or other financialitems, anticipated cost synergies, economies of scale and product orservice line growth, together with other statements that are nothistorical facts, are forward-looking statements that are estimatesreflecting the best judgment of Omnicare and excelleRx based oncurrently available information. Such forward-looking statementsinvolve actual known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingenciesand other factors that could cause actual results, performance orachievements to differ materially from those stated. Such risks,uncertainties, contingencies and other factors, many of which arebeyond the control of Omnicare, include, but are not limited to,overall economic, financial and business conditions; trends for thecontinued growth of the businesses of Omnicare and excelleRx; trendsin the long-term healthcare and hospice pharmaceutical care generally;profitability and cost synergies of the acquisition; the impact of theNeighborCare acquisition on Omnicare's earnings in 2005 and beyond;the impact and pace of pharmaceutical price increases; delays andfurther reductions in reimbursement by the government and other payorsto customers and to Omnicare as a result of pressure on federal andstate budgets due to the continuing economic downturn and otherfactors; the overall financial condition of Omnicare's customers;Omnicare's ability to assess and react to the financial condition ofits customers; the ability of vendors and business partners tocontinue to provide products and services to Omnicare; the continuedsuccessful integration of excelleRx, and the ability to realizeanticipated revenues, economies of scale, cost synergies andprofitability; pricing and other competitive factors in the industry;increases or decreases in reimbursement; the effect of new governmentregulations, executive orders and/or legislative initiatives, trendsin healthcare funding issues, including, but not limited to, stateMedicaid budgets, enrollee eligibility, escalating drug prices due tohigher utilization among seniors and the aging of the population;expectations concerning increasing Medicare admissions and improvingoccupancy rates; the introduction of more expensive medications andthe increasing use of generic medications; the impact of any changesin healthcare policy relating to the future funding of the Medicaidand Medicare programs; the cost-effectiveness of pharmaceuticals intreating chronic illnesses for the elderly; the impact of the Medicaredrug benefit, signed into law in December 2003 and effective in 2006,and its implementing regulations; the effect of any changes andconsiderations in long-term healthcare funding policies for Medicareand Medicaid programs; the ability of Omnicare to utilize itsexpertise in geriatric pharmaceutical care and pharmaceutical costmanagement and its database on drug utilization and outcomes in theelderly to meet the anticipated challenges of the healthcareenvironment and the implementation of the Medicare drug benefit;efforts by payors to control costs; the outcome of litigation; thefailure of Omnicare or the long-term care facilities it serves toobtain or maintain required regulatory approvals or licenses; theability to attract and retain needed management; the impact and paceof technological advances; the ability to obtain or maintain rights todata, technology and other intellectual property; the impact ofconsolidation in the pharmaceutical and long-term care industries;volatility in the market for Omnicare's stock and in the financialmarkets generally; access to capital and financing; the demand forOmnicare's products and services; variations in costs or expenses;changes in tax law and regulation; changes in accounting rules andstandards; and other risks and uncertainties described in Omnicare'sreports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Therecan be no assurance that such factors will not affect the accuracy ofsuch forward-looking statements and, except as otherwise required bylaw, Omnicare does not undertake any obligation to publicly releaseany revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events orcircumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence ofunanticipated events or to update the information in this release.