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                                              Filed by Jones Pharma Incorporated

                           Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933

                                                    Commission File No.:01-15098

                                      Subject Company: Jones Pharma Incorporated





THE FOLLOWING PRESS RELEASE WAS DISSEMINATED BY JONES PHARMA INCORPORATED,

ON JULY 13, 2000



                              N E W S  R E L E A S E



[JONES PHARMA LOGO]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



               KING PHARMACEUTICALS AND JONES PHARMA INCORPORATED

                                 ANNOUNCE MERGER



BRISTOL, TENNESSEE and ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, July 13, 2000 - King

Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE:KG) and Jones Pharma Incorporated (NASDAQ:JMED)

announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge the

two companies in a stock-for-stock transaction. The merger represents the

combination of two of the premier specialty pharmaceutical companies and results

in a company with a diversified therapeutic portfolio with multiple, rapidly

growing products. King expects the transaction to be accreative to earnings

immediately upon closing, excluding any non-recurring transaction expenses, and

will add approximately 3% to 4% to projected earnings per share for 2001.

Following completion of the transaction, the new company will have a combined

sales force of over 400 representatives, $552.6 million pro forma revenues for

the most recent preceding 12 month period, and an enterprise value of

approximately $7.8 billion.



Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by the boards of

directors of both companies, holders of Jones common stock will be entitled to

receive 1.125 shares of King common stock in exchange for each share of Jones

common stock. Based on the closing price of King common stock on July 12, 2000,

the merger values each share of Jones common stock at approximately $51.12, or

approximately $3.4 billion, providing a premium of approximately 38% over the

trailing 30 calendar day average closing price per share of Jones common stock.

Jones common stock closed at $43.75 per share on July 12, 2000. Following the

completion of the merger, Mr. Andrew Franz, Chief Operating Officer of Jones,

will be joining King's board of directors, and will become President and CEO of

Jones, as a wholly owned subsidiary of King. The transaction is expected to be

accounted for as a tax-free pooling of interests transaction. Closing of the

transaction is subject to approval by the holders of a majority of the

outstanding common stock of King and Jones, appropriate governmental approval,

and other customary conditions, and is expected to be completed before the end

of 2000.



John M. Gregory, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of King, stated, "The

merger of King and Jones will provide an excellent business combination that

will rapidly position King as one of the largest specialty pharmaceutical

companies with an estimated combined market capitalization of over $7 billion.

The merger will provide King with a more diversified portfolio of branded

pharmaceutical products with the addition of Jones' Levoxyl(R), Thrombin-JMI(R),

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