Arrow Corp., McKessonHBOC Expand Partnership

In response to the rapid growth of its retail pharmacy stores and FamilyMeds.com, its online pharmacy, Arrow Corp. (Farmington, CT) has expanded its original five-year primary pharmaceutical supply agreement with McKessonHBOC (San Francisco) to include an additional three years. Under the new agreement, McKessonHBOC will be the primary supplier of pharmaceuticals to Arrow's 122 pharmacy locations and to FamilyMeds.com's fulfillment centers, which are located in California and Connecticut.

Under two separate agreements, McKessonHBOC will provide automation technology for Arrow's retail pharmacies and fulfillment centers. BakerAPS, a business unit of McKessonHBOC, will install its Pharmacy2000 system in 12 of Arrow's high-volume retail pharmacies. Separately, SI Baker, a joint venture between BakerAPS and SI Handling Systems Inc., has been working with FamilyMeds.com to design, implement, and install customer distribution logistics systems in its two fulfillment centers.

Additionally, FamilyMeds.com signed an agreement with Clinical Reference Systems (CRS; Broomfield, CO), a unit of McKessonHBOC's Information Technology Business, to license approximately 320 CRS patient education topics to post on its consumer Web site. Licensed topics include adult and pediatric health, senior health, women's health, cardiology, and sports medicine.

Arrow Corp. owns, licenses, franchises, and manages retail pharmacy and nutritional practice sites. Its new online pharmacy, FamilyMeds.com, was recently listed by e-marketer as one of the top five online drugstores in the country.

McKesson HBOC Inc. provides supply management and information technologies to the healthcare industry, including businesses in pharmaceutical and medical-surgical distribution, automation, information technology, and outsourcing services for healthcare providers and payors. The company's BakerAPS business unit provides software and hardware to institutional and community pharmacies designed to improve their productivity and customer service. Its Clinical Reference Systems unit publishes patient education software for the international healthcare community.

For more information: Ed Mercadante, President and CEO, Arrow Corp., 312 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06032. Tel: 860-676-1222. Mark Majeske, Group President, Retail and Customer Operations, McKessonHBOC Inc., 1 Post St., San Francisco, CA 94104. Tel: 415-983-8300.

Edited by Jim Pomager