Medex Awarded Premier Contract

CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Premier Purchasing Partners, LP, the healthcare group purchasing unit of Premier, Inc., has awarded Medex, Inc. a multisource agreement which includes its line of PROTECTIV(R) and ACUVANCE(R) Safety I.V. Catheters. This contract follows a similar agreement launched in February 2004 which targeted the Medex line of infusion disposables and market-leading Medfusion(TM) Syringe Pumps.

The three-year contract is effective October 1, 2004. “We are extremely pleased to have been selected. Participation in this contract, which provides outstanding value to Premier members, also represents an enormous opportunity to build and strengthen these relationships over time. Medex continues to have more to offer Premier and its membership,” said Dominick Arena, President/CEO of Medex.

This unique agreement provides the opportunity for member facilities to acquire an end-to-end Medex infusion system. Continued Arena, “We are offering Premier member facilities access to a complete fluid and drug infusion system -- Medex syringe pumps, fluid and drug administration products and vascular access products -- which work together as a complete system. This contract demonstrates our desire to create ongoing value for our customers, our commitment to safety and to providing system solutions.”

Since the 2003 acquisition of the worldwide Vascular Access business of Ethicon Endo-Surgery (a Johnson & Johnson company), Medex has remained globally focused on clinician and patient safety. Medex initiatives not only target product solutions, but also extend to developing leading-edge platforms and education programs designed to increase clinical proficiency.

About Premier

Premier, Inc. is a strategic alliance in U.S. healthcare, entirely owned by more than 200 of the nation’s leading hospital and healthcare systems. These systems operate or are affiliated with nearly 1,500 hospital facilities and hundreds of other healthcare sites. Premier provides an array of resources supporting health services delivery, including group purchasing for more than $17 billion annually in supplies and equipment. Other resources offered by Premier are supply chain and clinical performance improvement services and insurance programs.

About Medex

Medex is a global manufacturer and marketer of critical care medical products used primarily in acute care settings for a variety of both therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. Medex markets and sells critical care systems and products to over 5,500 hospitals, health care systems, and alternate healthcare settings in more than 75 countries through a global sales force and distribution network. Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, the company employs approximately 2,000 people worldwide.

For more information, please visit http://www.medex.com/. Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and performance to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Detailed information about such risk factors is set forth in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to update, alter or release publicly any revisions to its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or developments.

For further information, please contact Gregory Aranaga, Director, Corporate Communications of Medex, Inc., +1-760-602 4455, garanaga@medex.com.

Medex, Inc.

CONTACT: Gregory Aranaga, Director, Corporate Communications of Medex,Inc., +1-760-602 4455, garanaga@medex.com