MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 12, 2002--The Board of Directors of C. R. Bard, Inc. (NYSE:BCR) at its December 11th meeting approved the purchase of up to 5 million shares of its common stock.

This new authorization follows the nearly completed buyback of the 10 million shares authorized by the Board in July 1998. The new shares along with the remaining 512,500 shares from the 1998 authorization will be acquired from time to time, consistent with past practice.

C. R. Bard, Inc., (www.crbard.com) headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey, is a leading multinational developer, manufacturer and marketer of health care products in the fields of vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialty products.

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