U. S. Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies of Johnson & Johnson Participate in Partnership for Prescription Assistance

National Program to Help Millions of Uninsured Americans Get the Prescription Medications They Need

New Brunswick, NJ, (April 5, 2005) — The U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies are participating in the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, the largest-ever private-sector program to help patients who lack coverage for prescription medications. They join a national coalition of pharmaceutical companies, doctors, nurses, other health care providers, pharmacists, patient advocates and community leaders.

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) offers a single point of access to more than 275 public and private patient assistance programs, including more than 150 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies.

To find out if they may qualify for one or more programs, patients can visit a user-friendly website (www.pparx.org) or call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) to speak with a trained specialist who can provide application assistance in English, Spanish and approximately 150 other languages.

To boost enrollment of eligible patients in patient assistance programs nationwide, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance is rolling out an extensive grassroots awareness program. Over the next year, the PPA will work with community leaders to establish chapters in all 50 states. In addition, efforts will be supported by a substantial national broadcast and print advertising campaign.

More than 50 national organizations including the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Physician Assistants, American College of Emergency Physicians, NAACP, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, National Medical Association, National Urban League, United Way of America, as well as a fast-growing list of state and local organizations, are working with America's pharmaceutical companies to spread the word about the program.

“We are proud to join national leaders to ensure that as many eligible patients as possible receive the prescription medicines they need,” said William C. Weldon, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and new chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America ( PhRMA). “The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is a powerful tool and another way of helping the indigent, the uninsured and the working poor.”

The U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies have a number of ways to assist people who do not have insurance. In 2005, the pharmaceutical operating companies announced their participation, along with nine other pharmaceutical companies, in the Together Rx Access™ Card , which provides savings of about 25 to 40 percent, and sometimes more, on more than 275 brand name prescription medications and other prescription products to those who qualify. Discounts apply to uninsured people who meet certain financial criteria and who are under age 65. Many of these companies participate in the original Together Rx™ program, which provides discounts to qualified Medicare enrollees.

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance program continues Johnson & Johnson's longstanding support for programs to increase access to medicines and the tradition of providing medications at significant savings or free for people without the means to pay for them. The patient assistance programs administered by the U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies provided medicines free to approximately 200,000 American patients in 2004. While eligibility requirements may vary, the patient assistance programs generally offer free medication to patients with incomes up to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.