Hospital Group Making Generic Drugs Adds 12 Additional Members

Civica Rx, the nonprofit generic drug company formed last year by 5 health systems in order to combat drug shortages and high prices for generic drugs, added 12 additional health systems this week, bringing the total to 750 hospitals in the United States joining the venture so far.

“We are thrilled to welcome these highly-regarded health systems to Civica as founding members,” said Martin VanTrieste, Civica Rx’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “Drug shortages have become a national crisis where patient treatments and surgeries are canceled, delayed, or suboptimal. We thank these organizations for joining us to make essential generic medicines accessible and affordable in hospitals across the country.”

The aim of the initiative is to reduce costs and create a more predictable supply of many medicines.

The 12 systems joining as founding members are:

• Advocate Aurora Health
• Allegheny Health Network
• Baptist Health South Florida
• Franciscan Alliance
• Memorial Hermann Health System
• NYU Langone Health
• Ochsner Health System
• Sanford Health
• Spectrum Health
• St. Luke’s University Health Network
• Steward Health Care
• UnityPoint Health

The latest members join the previously announced governing members, which include Catholic Health Initiatives, the Gary and Mary West Foundation, HCA Healthcare, Intermountain Healthcare, Laura & John Arnold Foundation, Mayo Clinic, the Peterson Center on Healthcare, Providence St. Joseph Health, SSM Health, and Trinity Health.

In 2019, Civica Rx hopes to bring over 14 hospital-administered generic drugs to hospitals and healthcare systems. Additional medications, as prioritized by the healthcare systems, will be the next phase of focus. The company is working toward becoming an FDA approved manufacturer and will either directly manufacture generic drugs or sub-contract manufacturing.

Hospitals have been struggling with drug shortages and the problem is getting worse, Martin Makary, MD, MPH, a surgical oncologist, said on a recent Managed Care Cast podcast.

Last year, the FDA decided to start extending the expiration dates of IV saline fluids in order to help hospitals cope with the shortages.

If Civica RX is successful, hospitals could see price reductions of 50%, The Chicago Tribune reported Friday. The new company will initially focus on selling to hospitals, but may eventually expand to offer products more broadly.