News Release

MINNEAPOLIS, January 12, 1999 -- Chronimed Inc. (Nasdaq: CHMD), today made a presentation to investors at the Hambrecht & Quist 17th Annual Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. Chronimed is a leading integrated healthcare company specializing in diagnostic products, pharmacy services and disease management for people with chronic health conditions. In the U.S., 45 percent of Americans suffer from chronic conditions and 75 percent of healthcare spending involves patients with chronic diseases. Chronimed serves people with diabetes, HIV/AIDS, organ transplants, and complex diseases treated with injectable drugs. Chronimed's morning presentation was given by Maurice R. Taylor, II, chairman and CEO.

Chronimed develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostic products, and provides specialized patient management services. The Company works directly with patients, providers, and payors in a concerted effort to improve clinical and financial outcomes. Chronimed believes that appropriate diagnosis, monitoring, case management, drug therapy, and aggressive intervention of costly chronic conditions can delay or avoid acute occurrences and reduce their severity, and thus, decrease their total cost. By specializing in high-cost, high-risk health conditions and emphasizing diagnostics and disease management, Chronimed is extremely well-positioned in today's payor-driven system which values improved outcomes and cost containment.

Effective chronic disease management is the application of continuous quality improvement to the whole spectrum of care. Chronimed recognizes that a disease management program stressing patient compliance and education, as well as appropriate clinical support and intervention, can positively impact both the payor's cost of care and the patient's quality of life. Chronimed has developed important relationships with payors who reimburse medical expenses, institutions that provide assistance, and manufacturers of the pharmaceutical and medical diagnostic products that these patients need.

Chronimed has three main business segments:

• Diagnostic Products - includes proprietary medical products employing blood and urine chemistry technologies used by and for patients to predict and monitor chronic conditions. This business also manufactures and distributes a growing range of diabetes products, such as blood glucose monitors, blood and urine reagent strips, urine testing supplies, lancing devices, infusion devices and accessories; as well as urine diagnostic products for patient testing in clinical settings. Most recently, Chronimed has become the exclusive worldwide distributor for the Lasette™, a revolutionary laser-based finger perforator for virtually pain-free extraction of capillary blood for glucose testing.
• Specialty Pharmacy Services - provides prescription drug and medical products for a wide variety of high-cost chronic diseases. It includes the Injectables Program, a payor-sponsored initiative that serves patients with complex diseases treated with injectable medications; the Organ Transplant Pharmacy, which serves solid organ transplant recipients; and Home Service Medical, a direct marketing business offering a full line of diabetes and other medical supplies and prescriptions direct to consumers. Yesterday, Chronimed announced its Life Management Program for Transplant Members, targeted at increasing adherence to treatment regimens by its transplant patients, thereby improving clinical outcomes and reducing total healthcare costs.
• Disease Management - Chronimed is the leading HIV/AIDS disease management company in the country. This business segment integrates the capabilities of Chronimed's subsidiary companies StatScript Pharmacy, which serves HIV/AIDS patients through localized specialty pharmacy centers in more than 20 cities, and Clinical Partners, Inc., a specialty HIV/AIDS medical case management company.

Chronimed's strategy is to become increasingly clinical and technical by acquiring and developing proprietary diagnostic products and by offering high-impact disease management and pharmacy services programs that improve patient outcomes.

The Company is comfortable with analysts' revenue projections for the fiscal year ending July 2, 1999, of approximately $195 million. Chronimed has ample cash reserves, no debt, and a significant untapped bank line of credit.

Chronimed has been a publicly held company since March 1992, and its common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol "CHMD." Financial information, product and company news are also available on the Internet at www.chronimed.com.

As a cautionary note to investors, certain matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such matters involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the following: changes in economic conditions; general competitive factors; the Company's ability to execute its sales and marketing plans; changes in the status of managed care contracts; and the risks described from time to time in the Company's SEC reports.