NEOF Neoforma Inc. (MM)

Suppliers Recognized for Top Market Position and Greatest Sales Growth AMBLER, Pa., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- HPIS, a Neoforma, Inc. (NASDAQ:NEOF) company and a leading provider of critical market intelligence for the highly competitive healthcare industry, today announced the winners of the second annual Best in Class Awards. The HPIS Best in Class Awards recognize medical/surgical manufacturers which have achieved the top market position in their respective product categories and the most substantial growth year over year. On Friday, Sept. 16, 2005, HPIS and Neoforma executives will present the 2005 Best in Class Awards to the representatives from the winning companies during the annual Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) 2005 MedSurg Conference & Expo in Philadelphia. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030226/NEOFORMALOGO ) This year, the HPIS Best in Class Awards honor 23 leading medical/surgical manufacturers in 34 different categories, ranging from wound care and diagnostics to gloves and cardiology products. Winners have been determined using the HPIS data on dollar volume for national product sales through the medical/surgical and clinical laboratory distribution chains. HPIS provides accurate medical/surgical market share and sales volume information, as well as custom reports, from its comprehensive and proprietary market intelligence database. The 2005 Best in Class Award winners and the major product categories in which they won awards include: Company Categories 3M Health Care 3 Awards: Cardiology-Cardiovascular; Masks; Skin Care Arizant Healthcare Inc. Heat/Cold Therapy AVID Medical Inc. Kits, Packs and Trays Standard Bard Access Systems 2 Awards: Catheter, Diagnostics, Theraputics; Urological Bayer HealthCare, Diagnostics Division Urinalysis Reagents/Supplies BD Medical 2 Awards: Hazardous Waste Control; Needles and Syringes Beckman Coulter, Inc. Immunology Reagents/Supplies Biosite Diagnostics, Inc. Point of Care Testing Reagents/Suppliers ConvaTec 2 Awards: Ostomy; Wound Care Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. Wound Sutures First Quality Enterprises, Inc. Incontinence Products Hospira, Inc. 2 Awards: Parenteral; Solutions/Nutritional Kimberly-Clark Health Care 3 Awards: Metal/Plastics/Paper Products; Sterilization; Surgical Instruments and Devices Mallinckrodt Inc. 2 Awards: Electromedical; Respiratory Medical Action Industries Inc. Woven and Nonwoven Goods Medline Industries, Inc. 2 Awards: Gloves; Kits, Packs and Trays Standard Remel Inc. Microbiology Reagents and Supplies Roche Diagnostics Specimen Collection Kits and Supplies Ross Products Enteral Feeding and Medical Nutritionals Sysmex America, Inc. Hematology/Coagulation Reagents/Supplies The Kendall Company Adhesives, Bandages, Dressings, Sponges United States Surgical Corporation 2 Awards: Electrosurgical; Wound Staples and Endosurgery Welch Allyn, Inc. 2 Awards: Patient Care Products - Medical; Pressure Monitoring Many of the 2005 HPIS Best in Class Award winners also leverage HPIS Market Intelligence(TM), one of the most comprehensive and accurate sources of competitive intelligence for manufacturers, distributors, consultants and analysts serving the medical/surgical and clinical laboratory industries. "At Kimberly-Clark Health Care, visibility into market share and detailed analytics are critical to our business success," says John Amat, vice president of sales and marketing, Kimberly-Clark Health Care. "HPIS Market Intelligence enables us to glean key information that helps us to make informed business decisions across all divisions -- from product marketing to R&D and business development." Kimberly-Clark, an HPIS customer since 1998, was recognized with three Best in Class Awards this year for metal, plastic and paper products; sterilization; and surgical instruments and devices. The company was also previously awarded with 2004 HPIS Best in Class awards for the surgical masks and sterilization supplies and products classes. "HPIS Market Intelligence helps BD Medical craft strategies that enable us to remain competitive in the marketplace and help ensure we are meeting our customers' needs," says Kathy Sullivan, senior director of marketing for BD Medical -- Medical Surgical Systems. "We are honored to be recognized with two HPIS Best in Class Awards for our achievement in hazardous waste control, and needles and syringes." In 2004, BD Medical received HPIS Best in Class Awards for the categories of parenteral supplies and specimen collection kits and supplies. "HPIS is proud to recognize manufacturers that are 'top dog' in their product categories based on sales volume and growth rate," says Vic Ventura, Neoforma vice president and general manager of HPIS. "Many of these organizations are leaders in using market intelligence in order to improve their market position and become more competitive." HPIS Market Intelligence enables healthcare manufacturers and distributors to accurately gauge market trends, identify market opportunities, measure market share and evaluate sales force performance and management. About HPIS Established in 1994, Healthcare Products Information Services, Inc. (HPIS), a Neoforma company, provides critical market intelligence for the highly competitive healthcare industry. Capturing more than 90 million medical/surgical sales transactions per quarter directly from the nation's leading distributors, HPIS employs state of the art security measures to protect the confidentiality of each distributor's identity in reporting information to clients. HPIS measures performance and market share to distributors and manufacturers for a variety of healthcare markets including hospital, physician office, long term care, treatment centers, clinical laboratory, and home healthcare. About Neoforma Neoforma is a leading supply chain management solutions provider for the healthcare industry. Through a unique combination of technology, information and services, Neoforma provides innovative solutions to over 1,600 hospitals and suppliers, supporting more than $13 billion in annualized transaction volume. By bringing together contract information and order data, Neoforma's integrated solution set delivers a comprehensive view of an organization's supply chain, driving cost savings and better decision-making for both hospitals and suppliers. For more information, point your browser to http://www.neoforma.com/. This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements related to Neoforma's leadership position and the ability of HPIS Market Intelligence to enable healthcare manufacturers and distributors to accurately gauge market trends, identify market opportunities, measure market share and evaluate sales force performance and management. There are a number of risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward- looking statements. These risks include the willingness of customers to accept Neoforma's business model of providing supply chain management solutions for the healthcare industry and the ability of Neoforma and HPIS to manage its technological challenges. Some of these risks and other risks are described in Neoforma's periodic reports filed with the SEC, including its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005. These statements are current as of the date of this release and Neoforma assumes no obligation to update the forward- looking information contained in this news release. NOTE: Neoforma is a trademark of Neoforma, Inc. Other Neoforma logos, product names and service names are also trademarks of Neoforma, Inc., which may be registered in other countries. Other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030226/NEOFORMALOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Neoforma, Inc. CONTACT: media, Rebecca Oles, +1-408-468-4363, or , or investors, Amanda Mogin, +1-408-468-4251, or , both of Neoforma, Inc. Web site: http://www.neoforma.com/

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