8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

         Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 7, 1999

                           BERGEN BRUNSWIG CORPORATION
               (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

       New Jersey               1-5110                   22-1444512
  (State or Other             (Commission               (IRS Employer
   Jurisdiction of            File Number)             Identification No.)
   Incorporation)


                4000 Metropolitan Drive, Orange, California 92868
               (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

        Registrant's telephone number, including area code (714) 385-4000







Item 5.  Other Events.

         On July 7, 1999, Bergen Brunswig  Corporation  issued the press release
attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1.

Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

         (c) Exhibits

         99.1 Press release dated July 7, 1999.






                                    SIGNATURE

          Pursuant to the  requirements of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934,
the  Registrant  has duly  caused  this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                               BERGEN BRUNSWIG CORPORATION

                                               By: /s/ Milan A. Sawdei
                                                   _____________________________
                                                    Milan A. Sawdei
                                                    Executive Vice President

Date:    July 13, 1999

EX-99

                                  Exhibit 99.1

                       BERGEN BRUNSWIG REPORTS PRELIMINARY
                              THIRD QUARTER RESULTS


          Orange, CA - July 7, 1999 -- Bergen Brunswig  Corporation  (NYSE: BBC)
today  announced  that based upon a review of its recent  operating  results the
Company  expects to report  earnings  per diluted  share of $.25 to $.27 for the
third  quarter  ended June 30, 1999 and $1.10 to $1.15 per diluted share for the
fiscal year ended September 30, 1999.  These  estimates  compare with First Call
consensus  analysts'  estimates  of $.31 for the quarter and $1.24 for the year.
Final  results for the quarter will be reported on July 28, 1999.  The full year
estimates  are based upon the  information  the Company has to date and could be
subject to adjustment if the results for the fourth  quarter are different  than
the Company's current expectations.

          The  unanticipated  earnings  weakness is  believed to be  primarily a
result of negative industry trends being experienced at the Company's  specialty
long-term care subsidiary  (PharMerica).  The industry trends impacting earnings
are the direct result of Medicare's revised  reimbursement under the Prospective
Payment System (PPS) and include among other things:  (1) Lower than anticipated
occupancy  by  Medicare-funded   patients  at  the  skilled  nursing  facilities
PharMerica serves;  (2) A significantly  diminished acuity level among residents
of these facilities,  which is impacting  overall  utilization of drugs; and (3)
Pricing pressure which has affected gross profit and had a greater than expected
effect on bed loss  resulting  from the  financial  difficulty  of nursing  home
customers.

          "When we completed the  acquisition of  PharMerica,  this business had
performed  on target with our  expectations  for the March  quarter and exceeded
consensus  estimates for the December 1998 quarter,"  explained Donald R. Roden,
president and CEO of Bergen Brunswig  Corporation.  "We considered the impact of
PPS in our  evaluation  of  PharMerica  and  made  what  we  thought  were  very
significant  downward  revisions  to revenue and profit  growth in our  internal
models to account for these concerns. The impact of PPS has been greater than we
or the industry  had  expected.  While we expected  fewer  high-acuity  Medicare
patients to be treated by our nursing home customers, we did not anticipate that
a dramatically  lower  percentage of Medicare  residents would only be receiving
oral medications.

          "Although the impact of PPS is significant in the short term and while
we are hopeful it will soon be addressed through the legislative process, we are
not waiting for this cure.



          "We have developed, for immediate  implementation,  an aggressive plan
for  improving  earnings  at  PharMerica  by  reducing  costs  by more  than $20
million,"  Roden  continued.  "First,  we will  utilize the  Generic  Purchasing
Program (GPP) for PharMerica that has been so successful in our drug company and
roll out our purchasing alliance  efficiencies  attainable through our agreement
announced  earlier  this  year  with NCS  Healthcare  (Nasdaq:  NCSS)  and Tenet
Healthcare  (NYSE:  THC). Both of these  initiatives are expected to commence by
July  30.  Secondly,   we  intend  to  reduce  operating  expenses  through  the
commencement   of   a   centralized   packaging   operation,    billing   center
consolidations,  and the  completion of an already  initiated  AS400  conversion
project.  Third, we will convert to a perpetual inventory and pricing system for
half of our pharmacies by end of calendar  1999,  with the rest completed by the
end of calendar  2000.  Longer term, we will be making maximum use of our highly
efficient 32 drug distribution  centers to streamline the delivery of product to
our long term care  customers  while  expanding  our reach  through  our  retail
networks.

         "As we have publicly  observed in recent months,  the impact of PPS and
other  regulatory  initiatives,  as well  as the  difficulties  inherent  in the
integration of newly acquired businesses, present challenges for our Company. We
remain  optimistic in our ability to meet these  challenges as we strive to meet
our goals of  reducing  costs  and  improving  services  within  the  healthcare
industry and providing value to our shareowners."

         "In short," Roden concluded,  "I am disappointed in the timing of these
events,  but I have confidence in the positive  demographic  trends for both our
core  business and in the long term care sector.  The American  population  will
continue to age, cost-conscious payers will increasingly turn to alternate sites
for care, and  pharmaceuticals  will play an ever more  significant  role as the
most viable and  cost-effective  means of treating the  elderly.  We believe the
institutional  pharmacy  business will grow and that we can continue to leverage
our core  competencies  in order to capture the  opportunities  inherent in this
market sector."

          The results  also  reflect a reduction in  anticipated  earnings  from
Stadtlander  Drug  Company.  Bergen is in  disagreement  with the seller and its
independent  auditors  regarding the valuation of the net assets of Stadtlander.
Additional  reserve  requirements that Bergen deems necessary will be recognized
as a result of the  post-closing  audit by  Bergen's  independent  auditors.  If
Bergen is unable to settle this matter with the seller, it will be arbitrated by
an independent party.

          Bergen  Brunswig  Corporation,  a Fortune 200 Company with  annualized
revenues of $17 billion (excludes bulk shipments to customers'  warehouses),  is
one of the nation's  leading  supply  channel  management  companies,  providing
pharmaceuticals,  medical-surgical and specialty products as well as information
management    solutions   and   outsourcing   services   designed   to   improve
cost-effectiveness and increase value for customers,  patients and manufacturers
across the entire healthcare  spectrum.  Additionally,  through its wholly owned
subsidiary,   PharMerica,   Bergen  serves  approximately  500,000  patients  in
long-term   care   and   alternate   site   settings.   Bergen   also   develops
disease-specific treatment protocols and pharmacoeconomic  initiatives to assist
in the reduction of overall  healthcare costs while improving disease management
and outcomes.

          Certain of the  information  set forth in this press  release (such as
estimates of earnings for future  periods;  the reduction in operating  expenses
and the future operating results of PharMerica; the strategy for future periods;
potential regulatory and legislative developments;  the potential impact of PPS;
industry,  business  and  demographic  trends;  the  ability  of the  Company to
leverage  its core  competencies;  and the  savings to be  achieved  through the
Company's plans) may constitute "forward-looking  statements" within the meaning
of the  Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform  Act of 1995 and are  subject to
risks,  uncertainties  and other  factors  which could cause  actual  results to
differ  materially  from those  projected  or implied.  Such  statements  may be
identified  by the  use of  forward-looking  language  such  as  "may,"  "will,"
"should," "expect,"  "anticipate,"  "estimate" or "continue" or the negatives or
other  variations  thereof  or  other  similar   terminology.   Such  risks  and
uncertainties include uncertainties relating to general economic conditions, the
unanticipated   loss  of  customer  or  supplier   relationships,   difficulties
associated with the integration of the Company's newly acquired businesses,  the
impact of government  regulation,  competition  and the other risks described in
exhibit 99 to the Company's  Quarterly  Report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended
March 31, 1999 and in other reports and exhibits  filed with the  Securities and
Exchange Commission.