CONTRACTING INFORMATION

Value of Being a NOVAPLUS® Supplier

NOVAPLUS, the private label of VHA and UHC is a low-cost brand of pharmaceutical, medical-surgical, radiology, respiratory and anesthesia products owned by the members themselves. Ownership means members can trust their brand to deliver unmatched quality, value and efficiency on more than 1300 product lines. As owners, members tend to first consider and often prefer these products to national brand equivalents. The brand is also offered to Provista members and clients.

First introduced in 1985 as VHA PLUS®, NOVAPLUS still follows its founding premise: Products Lowered Utilizing Standardization. With a 20-year record of success and more than $1.5 billion in annual member purchases, NOVAPLUS continues to provide VHA and UHC members with a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Novation works with manufacturers of all sizes to offer products frequently used by VHA and UHC members in the private label. Products selected for the NOVAPLUS label are high volume and non-clinical preference items.

The NOVAPLUS brand has helped smaller manufacturers with less common market recognition compete effectively with manufacturers many times their size. In some situations, the NOVAPLUS products have eclipsed leading national brands as the market leader within VHA and UHC organizations.

In addition, as pharmaceuticals near patent expirations, many manufacturers choose to provide these products in the NOVAPLUS label at the off-patent price prior to patent expiration as a way to maintain market share. The member hospitals realize the great benefits from such a strategy and respond by choosing NOVAPLUS.

NOVAPLUS delivers value to suppliers through:

• solid brand recognition with VHA and UHC members and Provista members and clients
• strong marketing and service delivery focus
• member loyalty
• increased market share
• the ability to offer unique value without eroding margins in other markets

NOVAPLUS supply partners are carefully selected and are consistently evaluated through a rigorous quality assurance process. Novation's quality assurance/regulatory affairs team conduct inspections of the manufacturing plants and their processes for all NOVAPLUS products.

Supply partner feedback is important to the success of NOVAPLUS. Novation product managers and the NOVAPLUS brand management team engage manufacturing partner national account managers on a regular basis regarding the brand.

To learn more about NOVAPLUS, contact Gina Suarez at (972) 581-5336, your Novation product manager or call 888-7NOVATE (888-766-8283).