DEERFIELD, IL, and BOSTON, MA -- Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chain, and Joslin Diabetes Center, the global leader in diabetes research, care and education, have formed a sweeping alliance to improve health outcomes for Americans with diabetes. Over the next five years, Walgreens and Joslin, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, will develop and deliver awareness, wellness, prevention and education programs nationally to reach the estimated 21 million Americans with diabetes and the additional 41 million Americans at risk for the disease. Walgreens also will open a specialty pharmacy on the Joslin campus under a separate lease arrangement.

"Diabetes in America continues to grow at epidemic proportions, and there are too few endocrinologists to handle that many patients," said Ron Weinert, vice president of patient services for Walgreens Health Services, the managed care division of Walgreen Co. "The burden of care is falling to primary care physicians and ultimately the patients, many of whom are our customers. We know the Joslin approach to education, outreach and disease management improves outcomes for people with diabetes, and our alliance is specifically designed to increase access to Joslin's model for everyone we reach."

The alliance will leverage all of Joslin's expertise in diabetes awareness, prevention and management. This expertise will be applied across Walgreens consumer channels, including its nationwide network of pharmacies, Walgreens.com and Walgreens Health Initiatives (a pharmacy benefit manager).

"This alliance represents a new model of care, powered by Joslin's deep research and extensive clinical knowledge, and distributed 'from bench to bedside' to the community through Walgreens pharmacies," said C. Ronald Kahn, M.D., President of Joslin and the Mary K. Iacocca Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "The incomparable reach of Walgreens and its deep commitment to the health of its cust
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Contact: Marjorie Dwyer
marjorie.dwyer@joslin.harvard.edu
617-732-2415
Joslin Diabetes Center
19-Sep-2006