Henry Schein's Chairman and CEO Addresses the World Economic Forum

MELVILLE, N.Y., Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners, discussed the potential global impact of a world without effective antibiotics before an audience of business, political, academic and other leaders of society at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.  Mr. Bergman participated in a public session on January 27 entitled, "What if all known antibiotics lost their effectiveness?" moderated by Tan Chorh-Chuan, President, National University of Singapore.  Mr. Bergman appeared on this panel with other leaders from academia, government, and private industry.

Mr. Bergman's remarks highlighted the global public health, economic, and social ramifications of the hypothetical scenario of a world without effective antibiotics.  He discussed the role of the health care industry in response to this type of scenario, including the challenges of likely supply chain breakdowns and major business impacts, noting that these are similar to the challenges that come into play in society's response to natural disasters and pandemics, and the very issues that Henry Schein Cares, the Company's global corporate social responsibility program, is working hard to overcome through collaborative public-private partnerships.  The World Economic Forum a very effective platform for this public-private partnership collaboration.  To prevent this disastrous hypothetical scenario, Mr. Bergman called for the strengthening of public-private collaboration to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics, promotion of vaccines as an excellent antibiotic resistance prevention tool, and vigorous support for research and development to create new and better antibiotics.

"We cannot afford to wait for this potential nightmare scenario to take place before we act. Clearly, all sectors, including governments, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, academia, and the private sector, have an essential role to play.  This is a job for all of us and it must begin now."

Since 2005, Henry Schein has been a member of the World Economic Forum, an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.  Mr. Bergman is a member of the World Economic Forum's Health Care Governors, a group of leaders in the health care industry concerned with issues ranging from access to care to pandemic and disease and other pressing issues that face the industry.  As an active member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Disaster Management, Mr. Bergman has met regularly over the past year with other experts from private industry, NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, and academia to discuss ways to address the challenges that face the world in managing natural disasters and minimizing their impact.

To read the blog post that Mr. Bergman published in the Huffington Post on the topic, click here.

About Henry Schein, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners, is a Fortune 500® company and a member of the NASDAQ 100® Index.  The Company is recognized for its excellent customer service and highly competitive prices.  Henry Schein's five businesses – Dental, Medical, Animal Health, International and Technology – serve more than 700,000 customers worldwide, including dental practitioners and laboratories, physician practices and animal health practices, as well as government and other institutions.  The Company operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, which provides customers in more than 200 countries with a comprehensive selection of more than 90,000 national and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 100,000 additional products available as special-order items. 

Henry Schein also provides exclusive, innovative technology offerings for dental, medical and veterinary professionals, including value-added practice management software and electronic health record solutions.

Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein employs more than 14,000 people and has operations or affiliates in 25 countries.  The Company's net sales reached a record $7.5 billion in 2010.  For more information, visit the Henry Schein Web site at www.henryschein.com. 

SOURCE Henry Schein, Inc.