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Hello, readers. This is Sy.
In January, a number of leading US health care systems announced an ambitious plan: they would band together to create a not-for-profit generic drug company in the hope of fighting high drug prices and regularly encountered shortages. by American patients.
On Thursday, this initiative received an official name – Civica Rx – in addition to funding $ 30 million from a large number of major investors, including the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.
Civica Rx is a joint effort of big names such as Catholic Health Initiatives, HCA Healthcare, Intermountain Healthcare, St. Joseph Health Providence, Mayo Clinic, SSM Health and Trinity Health. These seven massive systems encompass about 500 US hospitals and will form the group's initial board of directors, which means that it has attracted the interest of "more than 120 health organizations representing about one-third of the country's hospitals."
In addition, the organization recruited a veterinarian specializing in the pharmaceutical industry. Martin VanTrieste, former quality director at biotech giant Amgen, will be the CEO of Civica – and he will do the job for free. "We are creating a public asset with the mission to ensure that essential generic medicines are accessible and affordable," VanTrieste said in a statement. "The fact that one-third of the country's hospitals have expressed interest or made a commitment to participate in Civica Rx is a great need for this initiative. This will improve the situation of patients by putting the generic market in competition. "
Civica's mission is not an easy task. The company has announced that, initially, it will target 14 specific generic drugs administered in hospitals. The idea is that, non-profit, there will be no incentive to inflate artificially or arbitrarily increase prices; the only person who counts is the patient. (It is unclear exactly which drug Civica belongs to, even if they include generic drugs that have experienced exorbitant price increases or national shortages).
What is particularly ambitious in this project is its goal to have a generic drug available on the market as early as next year. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the direction of Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, has made the execution of the drug approval process an essential mission, such speed of processing may be tricky.
And then there is the question of how traditional generic drug makers might react to Civica, including the possibility that they can (at least temporarily) reduce their own catalog prices to keep their current customers online.
Read on for the news of the day.
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