DUBLIN, Ohio — Cardinal Health Inc. has renewed its distribution agreement with Walgreen Co. to supply pharmaceuticals to the drug store chain’s national network of retail pharmacies.

The health care distributor said Tuesday that the new pact with Walgreens, which extends into 2013, was renewed early. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"Walgreens is a valued partner for Cardinal Health, and we are proud to continue our long-standing relationship," George Barrett, chairman and chief executive officer of Cardinal Health, said in a statement. "The new agreement builds on the fundamentals of our existing relationship, and the terms were factored into the fiscal 2011 guidance we provided in October."

Cardinal Health’s  Specialty Solutions unit also announced that its P4 Healthcare business has signed new P4 Pathways agreements with AmeriHealth and PerformRx and extended its multiyear relationship with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. These new business opportunities follow the recent announcement to implement the P4 Pathways program for oncology practices within the Highmark BlueCross BlueShield network in Pennsylvania.

Through the new agreements, P4 Healthcare will help each payor work with physicians to develop clinical protocols, or "pathways," that improve the consistency, quality and cost-effectiveness of treatment regimens for common types of cancer.