MEDCO HEALTH SOLUTIONS INC. REGISTERED SHARES DL -,01 - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

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http://www.medcohealth.com

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Medco Health is the nation`s leading pharmacy benefits manager. We serve the needs of more than 62 million people, nearly one in four Americans. As of April 2003, the plans we administered for our clients covered 190 of the Fortune 500, including 52 of the Fortune 100, 12 of the country`s 42 Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans, and several large managed care organizations. In addition, our Systemed L.L.C. subsidiary capitalizes on our extensive PBM capabilities to meet the specific needs of small to mid-size clients.

Medco Health`s educational programs and sophisticated information systems link patients, pharmacists, and physicians, helping to ensure the appropriate use of prescription drugs for each individual based upon their health profile, best clinical practices, and benefit plan coverage. In 2002, Medco Health managed more than 537 million prescriptions through its 12 home delivery pharmacies and nationwide network of more than 58,000 retail pharmacies.

Medco Health`s services are designed to help control total healthcare costs, improve quality of care, and provide member satisfaction

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Medco Health Solutions, Inc.


We are the nation`s largest pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, based on our 2002 net revenues. We provide sophisticated programs and services for our clients and the members of their pharmacy benefit plans, as well as for the physicians and pharmacies the members use. We believe that our ability to consistently deliver programs and services that help our clients provide a high-quality, cost-effective prescription drug program to their members has made us a market leader.

We actively pursue initiatives to reduce the rate of increase in our clients` drug expenditures, referred to in our industry as "drug trend", to save members money and to improve the services we provide both our clients and their members. We continue to expand our pre-eminent home delivery business, which reduces drug costs for our clients and provides enhanced reliability and service to their members.

In 2002, our national network of home delivery pharmacies filled approximately 82 million prescriptions, representing about 30% more than the number of prescriptions filled by the mail service operations of our three largest competitors combined. We seek to contain costs for our clients and their members by encouraging the prescribing of drugs on a plan`s approved list of drugs, or "formulary", and the use of medically appropriate generic drugs through our generic education and substitution programs.

Our high-quality service, advanced technology and cost containment initiatives enabled us to limit the average drug trend for plans that include both retail and home delivery to 14.0% in each of 2000 and 2001 and 12.9% in 2002, compared to the national average of 17.3% in 2000, 15.7% in 2001 and an estimated 14.3% in 2002 as reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS.

We have a large number of clients in each of the major industry segments, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans; managed care organizations; insurance carriers; third-party benefit plan administrators; employers; federal, state and local government agencies; and union-sponsored benefit plans. As of June 2003, the plans we administered for our clients covered 190 of the Fortune 500, including 52 of the Fortune 100, 12 of the country`s 42 Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans and several large managed care organizations. In addition, our Systemed, L.L.C. subsidiary capitalizes on our extensive PBM capabilities to meet the specific needs of small to mid-size clients. Over the last three years, our aggregate revenue from small to mid-size clients increased an average of approximately 39% per year, excluding the impact of acquisitions, to approximately $1.6 billion in 2002.

From 1998 to 2002, our net revenues increased on average approximately 26.4% per year. In 2002, we filled or processed approximately 548 million prescriptions, had net revenues of approximately $33 billion and net income of more than $360 million, and had earnings before interest income/expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, of approximately $886 million. Our net income is driven by our ability to earn rebates and negotiate favorable discounts on prescription drugs from pharmaceutical manufacturers, obtain competitive discounts from retail pharmacies, negotiate competitive client pricing, including rebate sharing terms, shift dispensing volumes from retail to home delivery and provide services in a cost-efficient manner.

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When did Medco Health Solutions go public?

Medco Health Solutions stock started trading on August 20, 2003.

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Key Ratios & Statistics

Price & Volume
Recent Price $ 26.20
52 Week High $ 26.30
52 Week Low $ 24.94
Avg Daily Vol (Mil) NA
Beta NA

Share Related Items
Mkt. Cap. (Mil) $ 7,074.00
Shares Out (Mil) 270.00
Float (Mil) 51.30

Dividend Information
Yield % NA
Annual Dividend 0.00
Payout Ratio (TTM) % 0.00

Financial Strength
Quick Ratio (MRQ)
Current Ratio (MRQ) NA
LT Debt/Equity (MRQ) NA
Total Debt/Equity (MRQ) NA


Valuation Ratios
Price/Earnings (TTM) 19.55
Price/Sales (TTM) NA
Price/Book (MRQ) NA
Price/Cash Flow (TTM) NA

Per Share Data
Earnings (TTM) $ 1.34
Sales (TTM) $ NA
Book Value (MRQ) $ NA
Cash Flow (TTM) $ NA
Cash (MRQ) $ NA

Mgmt Effectiveness
Return on Equity (TTM) NA
Return on Assets (TTM) NA
Return on Investment (TTM) 4.72

Profitability
Gross Margin (TTM) %
Operating Margin (TTM) % 1.88
Profit Margin (TTM) % 1.10

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Investors React Cooly to Medco Shares` Wall Street Debut

Hollister H. Hovey Dow Jones Newswires

NEW YORK -- Now independent from its 10-year parent Merck & Co. (MRK), Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday. But even with the flood of 270 million new shares on the market, the rest of the prescription benefit managers weren`t really affected, nor were the stocks of standalone Merck or Medco themselves.

Until the close Tuesday, Merck`s stock included Medco and closed at $53.72. After being adjusted to reflect the spinoff, shares of Merck opened at $50.92. At about 1 p.m., shares of Merck were up 2% at $51.89.

In the spinoff, Merck shareholders received 0.1206 shares of Medco. Medco stock opened at $23.10. At about 1 p.m., the company`s shares were up 6.1%, or $ 1.46, at $25.31.

Medco`s stock did outpace those of its smaller competitors that administer prescription-drug benefits for private insurers and employers, however.

At about 1 p.m. on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Caremark Rx Inc.(NYSE:CMX) ( CMX) were down 11 cents, or 0.5%, at $24.45. On the Nasdaq Stock Market, shares of Express Scripts Inc.(NASDAQ-NMS:ESRX) (ESRX) were off 60 cents, or 0.9%, at $64.44, while shares of AdvancePCS (ADVP) were up 27 cents, or 0.7%, at $40.27.

The long-awaited separation of the two companies leaves Merck with its higher margin drug business and Medco without the appearance of a conflict of interest.

But First Albany analyst Adam Greene isn`t in favor of the separation, as he believes it "increases the risk from Merck`s weak near-term pipeline and patent exposure in 2006 to 2007."

Mr. Greene adjusted his Merck pro forma earnings per share estimates for this year and next to $3.27 and $3.48 from $3.40 and $3.70, respectively.

Medco, while having lower margins than Merck, did contribute a substantial amount of revenue - $33 billion last year - to the company. But the relationship between the two companies had raised eyebrows of investors, consumers and the government.

Medco will have "nothing more than a manufacturing agreement" with its former parent after the spinoff, Medco`s Chief Executive David Snow said in an interview Tuesday after ringing the opening bell at the NYSE.

With Merck as a parent, Medco was a "lightning rod for criticism," Mr. Snow said.

Merck won`t own any Medco shares, nor will it have any representation on its board of directors.

Merck bought Medco in 1993 for $6.6 billion and over time faced criticism for allegedly forcing the pharmacy benefit manager to show preference to its own drugs, which the company denies.

According to a registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Medco will have to promote Merck drugs after the spinoff, even if that is sometimes detrimental to Medco`s interests.

Medco has similar manufacturing agreements with about 50 other companies, Mr. Snow said. There is a difference, however.

The filing said Medco has an agreement with Merck that might force Medco to pay "substantial" damages to Merck if it fails to meet market-share targets for Merck drugs.

Mr. Snow maintains that Medco has "full transparency with our clients" and doesn`t show preference to Merck`s drugs.

During June the U.S. Justice Department said it was joining a lawsuit by two former Medco pharmacists, alleging that Medco employees were pressured to falsify orders of Merck drugs to meet goals and to disregard complaints by patients and doctors about drug switching or pill shortages. Medco denies the allegations.

With its opening day of trading, Medco Health will become a new component of the S&P 500, Standard & Poor`s flagship stock index.

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Hi-Tech Pharmacal Announces Addition of William Peters as Vice President, Corporate Development

AMITYVILLE, N.Y., Sep 9, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: HITK), a specialty pharmaceuticals company, announced today that William Peters has joined the company as Vice President, Corporate Development. Mr. Peters will assist the company in evaluating and making acquisitions, arranging licensing agreements, and analyzing strategic growth opportunities.

Mr. Peters joins Hi-Tech Pharmacal from Merck & Co., Inc, where he served most recently as Director, Financial Evaluations, for the Medco Health Solutions subsidiary. During his seven-year career with Merck & Co., he also served as Manager of Corporate Financial Analysis and Manager of Treasury Planning and Analysis.

Mr. Peters began his career in General Electric`s Financial Management Program at the company`s Aerospace division, where he later held positions in financial analysis and internal auditing.

He earned his Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bucknell University.

David Seltzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hi-Tech Pharmacal commented, "William is a seasoned business executive with tremendous experience in corporate finance, including particular knowledge of the issues, opportunities and challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry. He is a welcome addition to our team, and will be an asset to our company as we continue to grow our business."

About Hi-Tech Pharmacal

Hi-Tech is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing, manufacturing and marketing branded and generic products for the general healthcare industry. The Company specializes in difficult to manufacture liquid and semi-solid dosage forms and produces a range of sterile ophthalmic, otic and inhalation products. The Company`s Health Care Products Division is a leading developer and marketer of branded prescription and OTC products for the diabetes marketplace.

Statements concerning future results in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the impact of competitive products and pricing, product demand and market acceptance, new product development, reliance on key strategic alliances, availability of raw materials, the regulatory environment, fluctuations in operating results and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company`s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and these statements are not guarantees of the future performance.

SOURCE: Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co., Inc.

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Award-Winning Generic Drug Program Adds OTCs to its Step-Therapy Approach

To Further Curb Spending on Prescription Drugs, Medco Health Solutions` Highly Successful Generics First(R) Program Now to Include OTCs

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Sep 11, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Medco Health Solutions, Inc.`s (NYSE: MHS) groundbreaking Generics First program, which has contributed significantly to more than $800 million in client savings through increased generic drug utilization, is expanding to include over-the-counter (OTC) medications from two leading therapeutic categories.

In June, the OTC pain medication Advil was introduced into the Generics First program and the new OTC non-sedating antihistamine (NSA) Alavert will be added this month. The two OTCs, manufactured by Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, join a comprehensive suite of generic medications from six high utilization drug categories that are currently included in the Generics First program.

In 2002, close to $7.7 billion was spent on non-sedating prescription antihistamines and about $9.6 billion on prescription pain relief medications. Increasing the use of Advil and Alavert when medically advisable and appropriate in place of prescription drug therapies could substantially decrease spend in those therapeutic categories. Overall, the price of OTCs is, on average, substantially lower than the cost of prescription drugs. For instance, Alavert costs approximately 25 percent to more than 50 percent less than prescription NSAs.

Including OTCs in the Generics First program provides Medco Health further opportunity to significantly reduce drug spend by encouraging physicians to take a step-therapy approach to prescribing drugs without sacrificing the health of the patient. Step-therapy balances quality medical care and cost by considering OTCs as first-line therapy when clinically appropriate, rather than initially using a prescription medication.

"In many cases, starting a patient off on an OTC is the best medical approach," said Dr. Glen Stettin, vice president, Clinical Products, Medco Health. "Depending on what the illness or condition is, an OTC can offer effective treatment without exposing the patient to unnecessary dosages of prescription drugs, and exposing the plan provider to unnecessary costs."

Through Generics First, pharmacists conduct monthly visits with physicians to provide detailed clinical and cost information on generic drugs and encourage them to consider prescribing generic alternatives to more expensive brand-name drugs. Until now, only free generic prescription drug samples were being provided to physicians through the program. With the addition of OTCs, free patient samples of Advil and Alavert will be made available to the program`s 12,000 participating physicians. Generics First visiting pharmacists will also be able to address any questions or concerns physicians may have about the use of these OTCs.

OTCs Measure Up

Prescription pain relievers, in particular the high-priced COX-2 inhibitors Vioxx and Celebrex, have come to dominate the market, making up 60 percent of all arthritis drug treatments in 2000, and accounting for sales of over $4 billion. Medco Health clients alone spent more than $1.1 billion on COX-2s in 2002. However, studies have shown that for many patients, OTC pain relievers are just as effective as prescription pain medications and present no additional health risks to a large number of those currently using COX-2 drugs.

According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, each year more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergic diseases. Allergies cost the health care system $18 billion annually; in 2002 Medco Health clients spent $1.3 billion on non-sedating prescription antihistamines. With Claritin now available over-the-counter and new additions such as Alavert entering the market, the number of highly effective OTC options in the non- sedating class of allergy medications has the potential to significantly reduce the use of prescription allergy medications and ease spend in the NSA drug category.

Doctors Think Generics First

Generics First began in 2000 as a two-year pilot program with 12 pharmacists making visits to 1,700 physicians` offices in 10 states across the country. Results from this initial program showed that in 2001 almost $10 million was saved through a 22-percent increase in the generic prescribing rates of participating physicians over those of a comparison group of physicians.

Based on the overwhelming success of the pilot program, Medco Health expanded the Generics First program in the past year to include up to 20,000 physicians, who receive clinical and cost education or access to free samples of leading generic medications and now OTCs. Medco Health has increased the number of Generics First pharmacists by 33 percent and has expanded its reach to 15 states. In addition, the number of physicians receiving visits from Generics First pharmacists has doubled, to 3,400.

As part of the expanded program, Medco Health invited 6,000 physicians nationwide to participate in an innovative e-education supplement that provides on-line Generics First clinical and cost education. Many of these physicians also have access to free samples of generic medications.

Generics First was awarded the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute`s (PBMI) 2003 Rx Benefit Innovation Award. The award, which recognizes creative approaches to drug benefit program management, was bestowed upon Medco Health`s successful program for its unique approach to reducing drug spend.

About Medco Health

Medco Health Solutions, Inc., (NYSE: MHS) is the nation`s leading pharmacy benefits manager, based on its 2002 net revenues of approximately $33 billion. Medco Health assists its clients to moderate the cost and enhance the quality of prescription drug benefits provided to 62 million Americans nationwide. Its clients include private and public-sector employees and healthcare organizations, including 190 of the Fortune 500 companies. For more information about Medco Health visit www.medcohealth.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve risks and uncertainties. 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 disclosure regarding Medco Health in our registration statements on Form 10 (SEC File No. 1-31312) and Form S-1 (SEC File No. 333-86404) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks and uncertainties facing our business described therein.

SOURCE Medco Health Solutions, Inc.

Ann Smith, Medco Health Solutions, [phone] or
[e-mail]; or Janet Schiller or Joe Clark, both of Coyne
Public Relations, [phone]

http://www.medcohealth.com

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Medco Health to Join FORTUNE 500 Index

NEW YORK, Sep 24, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FORTUNE announced today that Medco Health Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MHS) will be added to the FORTUNE 500(R) Index (Symbol: FFX) after the close of trading on Monday, September 29, 2003.

Medco, based in Franklin Lakes, N.J., is a leading provider of prescription healthcare services. The company reported filling more than 548 million prescriptions in 2002, generating revenue of approximately $33 billion.

Spinoffs of FORTUNE 500 Index components are ordinarily eligible for inclusion if their revenues are at least 50% of the former parent company, and subsequent satisfaction of price, volume and market capitalization criteria. Medco was spun off from FORTUNE 500 Index component Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) in August 2003.

For more information about the FORTUNE 500 Index, including Index policies and procedures, as well as the entire list of companies in the FORTUNE 500 Index, visit indexes.fortune.com. Index updates and changes can be viewed at www.amextrader.com.

The FORTUNE 500 Index is licensed for use as the basis of a number of investment products including the FORTUNE 500 Index Tracking Stock (AMEX: FFF). These products are not sponsored, sold, promoted, or endorsed by FORTUNE, a division of Time Inc., and FORTUNE makes no representation and has no liability with regard to investing in them.

FORTUNE 500 Index - Effective Close of Market September 29, 2003