Syncor Expands Services Offered in Brazil (Business Wire)...Seeds are radioactive sources that are implanted in localized tumors to eradicate the cancer.......A gamma knife is a medical device capable of delivering an extremely accurate dose of radiation used in the treatment of lesions, tumors and other brain abnormalities....- May 16 1:35 PM ET

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Press Release

Syncor Expands Services Offered in Brazil

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2001--Syncor International Corporation (NasdaqNM:SCOR) today announced that its Brazilian subsidiary has entered into two agreements in Brazil that will expand the range of services offered by Syncor in that country.

Both agreements are expected to be slightly accretive. Syncor entered the Brazil market earlier this year with its agreement to manage the only gamma knife facility in Brazil.

The first agreement announced today is with the Kaplan Clinic, an oncology center located in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to manage and direct all non-medical functions at the clinic. Under the 10-year agreement, Syncor will also operate the pharmacy at the clinic to compound chemotherapy infusion pharmaceuticals for use in chemotherapy treatments throughout Porto Alegre, the largest city in southern Brazil. The Kaplan Clinic is one of the largest private chemotherapy infusion centers in southern Brazil, and is owned by Dr. Algemir Brunetto and Dr. Gilberto Schwartsmann, two of the most prominent oncologists in all of Latin America.

In addition, Syncor expanded its existing agreement with Hospital Santa Paula in Sao Paulo to include the management of a brachytherapy center at the facility for the treatment of prostate cancer using brachytherapy seeds. Seeds are radioactive sources that are implanted in localized tumors to eradicate the cancer.

Syncor manages the gamma knife facility at Hospital Santa Paula in Sao Paulo, the world's third largest city and the largest city in South America. A gamma knife is a medical device capable of delivering an extremely accurate dose of radiation used in the treatment of lesions, tumors and other brain abnormalities.

"Our investments in the Kaplan Clinic and in Hospital Santa Paula reflect our strategy to use our expertise and resources in the area of time-critical pharmaceuticals, medical facility management and brachytherapy to develop and expand our oncology, cardiology and neurology service offerings in Brazil," said Haig Bagerdjian, President and Chief Executive Officer of Syncor Overseas Ltd. "We expect that our association with these leaders in cancer treatment in Brazil will create additional expansion opportunities for Syncor. With a population of 160 million, and limited radiopharmaceutical services currently available, we believe the Brazil market represents a strong opportunity for Syncor."

About Syncor International Corporation

Syncor International Corporation is a leading provider of high technology health care services concentrating on nuclear pharmacy services, medical imaging, niche manufacturing and radiotherapy. In the nuclear pharmacy services business, Syncor compounds and dispenses radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic and therapeutic use by nuclear medicine departments in hospitals and outpatient clinics. Syncor distributes these time-critical pharmaceuticals to more than 7,000 U.S.-based customers through an integrated network of 127 domestic and 19 international nuclear pharmacies. Medical imaging services are provided through an integrated network of 60 domestic and 13 international owned or operated facilities (including two catheterization laboratories overseas). Domestic medical imaging operations are conducted by Syncor's wholly owned subsidiary, Comprehensive Medical Imaging, Inc., and international operations are conducted by Syncor Overseas Ltd. Syncor also owns or operates two domestic and two international production facilities for positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals, and is a party to a series of agreements to make PET technology more accessible to healthcare providers and patients nationwide. Syncor also produces and markets Iodine-125 brachytherapy seeds used to treat prostate cancer, and operates a gamma knife facility in South America.

     Syncor Overseas Ltd.
     Haig S. Bagerdjian, 818/737-4549
        or
     Syncor International Corporation
     Tim G. Guttman, 818/737-4507