Possibly the biggest industry news of the week occurred when Civica Rx, previously labelled Project Rx, officially threw their gloves in the ring as THE new not-for-profit generic drug company in the USA.
Born out of frustration for a system where drugs are often overpriced and under supplied, this venture will be led by CEO Martin VanTrieste, the former CQO for Amgen. VanTrieste explains, “We are creating a public asset with a mission to ensure that essential generic medications are accessible and affordable.” He further notes, “This will improve the situation for patients by bringing much needed competition to the generic drug market.”
There is research to suggest, in some instances, that prices for generic drugs can be reduced to a fraction of their current costs. The interest in this new venture by a third of the various health organizations in the USA, confirms there is an urgent need to solve the problem of generic drug shortages across the country.
Headquartered in Utah, Civica Rx will include 7 healthcare systems: Catholic Health Initiatives (www.catholichealthinitiatives.org), HCA Healthcare (hcahealthcare.com), Intermountain Healthcare (intermountainhealthcare.org), Mayo Clinic(www.mayoclinic.org), Providence St. Joseph Health (www.psjhealth.org), SSM Health (www.ssmhealth.com), and Trinity Health (www.trinity-health.org) as initial governing members, along with three major philanthropies: the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (www.arnoldfoundation.org), the Peterson Center on Healthcare (petersonhealthcare.org), and the Gary and Mary West Foundation (www.westhealth.org), who will also join as governing members. According to Forbes, the estimated $100M investment will come in the form of a $1M upfront payment from each governing member and an agreement to provide a $9M line of credit each as well, for future costs and manufacturing.
The new company will work to eliminate shortages and reduce the increasing prices of life saving generic drugs. They will accomplish this by establishing set contracts with its purchasing members for the quantity and price of the drugs they will purchase. Initially, Civica Rx indicates it has identified, “14 generic drugs that are administered to patients in the hospital,” that it will produce. Civica Rx will operate as an FDA approved manufacturer.
As indicated in their press release, Civica Rx plans to enter the market in early 2019 with their first products. See their full press release here: (https://civicarx.org/static/Civica_Rx_News_Release_9-4-18.f8fecc3d.pdf)
Company Website: Civicarx.org
Company Linked In: linkedin.com/company/CivicaRx/
Company Twitter: twitter.com/CivicaRx
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