We are pleased to announce that McKesson, the world's leading health care services company, has acquired the assets of M.E.D.S. Inc., a Montreal-based company that provides automated packaging devices and related services throughout Canada and the United States.  McKesson Canada, McKesson's Canadian subsidiary, will receive exclusive distribution rights for the PACMEDTM line of fully automated dose packaging systems. 
 
 "This will give McKesson Canada's business a unique position within the retail pharmacy, long-term care and hospital markets," stated Claudio Bussandri, president and CEO for McKesson Canada. "The introduction of PACMED within our product offering is evidence of both our increased focus and commitment to the hospital market, as well as a natural complement to our present retail pharmacy automation solutions offered through McKesson APS."
 
Yves Portelance, Vice President McKesson APS - the retail automation division of McKesson Canada - will manage this operation on behalf of McKesson Canada.  Yves will focus on after-sales support to both the retail and hospital pharmacy sales initiatives, as well as support the integration of the new product line into McKesson's American portfolio of automation products.
 
"Over the past few years PACMED has become the established market leader in unit dose and multi-dose compliance packaging in Canada," added Yves, with regards to PACMED's integration into the McKesson APS retail pharmacy automation portfolio. "By expanding McKesson APS' solutions to include this line of high-speed packagers, we are able to support retail pharmacy efforts in the long-term care and compliance packaging markets." 
  
 "This acquisition will allow us to fill the gap for small hospitals and long-term care institutions not adequately served by our present offering, and truly serves to highlight our increased focus on building renewed partnerships with hospital customers," commented Dale Weil, Vice President Hospital and Specialty Pharmaceutical Solutions. "This acquisition will extend McKesson Automation Solutions' portfolio of market-leading bar code packaging technologies, and further assist hospitals with achieving their goal of dispensing all unit dose medications in bar coded form." The hospital team will be responsible for the sales and marketing of this line to the hospital segment, complimenting its already extensive offering of automation solutions tailored to address efficiency and medication safety concerns.
 
The PACMED is an automated, high-speed, multiple-canister, tablet and capsule bar-coding, packaging, and dispensing device.  The PACMED line of automation produces bar-coded, unit dose strip-packaging and has the capability to produce patient-compliant med-packs.  This functionality has been shown to support patient safety protocols, as well as improve dispensing, administration, and inventory control initiatives for the retail pharmacy as well as for the institutional environment. 
 
For additional information please contact Annick Robinson, Director Communications, McKesson Canada: telephone 514.832.8219, via email communication@mckesson.ca, or through our Web site www.mckesson.ca.
 
McKesson Canada Mission
To be the Canadian leader in health care supply management solutions by advancing the success of our partners.
 
About McKesson Canada
McKesson Canada is the leading provider of logistics as well as information products and services within the Canadian health care marketplace. McKesson Canada offers a range of integrated solutions through our five business units which are McKesson Pharmaceutical, McKesson Logistics Solutions, McKesson Automation, McKesson Health Solutions, and McKesson Information Solutions. For more information visit us at www.mckesson.ca.
 
McKesson Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of McKesson Corporation of San Francisco, one of the world's leading health care supply management and information technology companies. 
 
About McKesson Automation
The McKesson Automation business unit provides automation solutions to both in-patient and out-patient pharmacies through its two dedicated divisions. 
  
About McKesson APS
McKesson APS, the out-patient division of McKesson Automation, has been a leader in retail pharmacy automation since it first introduced the industry-renowned Baker CellTM in the early 1970's. McKesson APS has now developed over eleven different technologies, designed to work individually or in concert, to dramatically increase the productivity of any retail pharmacy. 

About McKesson Automation Solutions
McKesson Automation Solutions, the in-patient division of McKesson Automation, is a market leader of comprehensive and innovative pharmacy automation solutions that help hospitals       re-engineer and improve their medication-use processes.  Based on bar-coding technology, these solutions are reducing medication errors and increasing levels of patient safety throughout all stages of the health care continuum.