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posted by martyb on Thursday September 06 2018, @10:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the sudden-outbreak-of-common-sense? dept.

Health systems representing around 500 U.S. hospitals have formed a not-for-profit pharmaceutical manufacturer called Civica Rx. The drugs will be cheap, and the CEO will not receive a paycheck:

A drugmaking venture backed by major U.S. hospitals has picked a chief executive officer, hastening the arrival of another threat to generic pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Martin VanTrieste, 58 and a former top executive at biotechnology giant Amgen Inc., will run the organization, a not-for-profit called Civica Rx. Dan Liljenquist, 44 and an Intermountain Healthcare executive, will be chairman. Health systems with a total of about 500 hospitals -- including Intermountain, HCA Healthcare Inc., Mayo Clinic and Catholic Health Initiatives -- will help govern the venture, alongside several philanthropies.

Civica Rx will work to combat drug shortages and skyrocketing prices for some treatments given in hospitals by manufacturing generics or contracting with other firms to make them. Generic drugmakers have faced scrutiny for raising the prices of certain older drugs, particularly when hospitals lack alternatives. The supply chain for such treatments has also been vulnerable to disruptions, leading to persistent shortages.

"Civica Rx will first seek to stabilize the supply of essential generic medications administered in hospitals," the group said in a statement. "The initiative will also result in lower costs and more predictable supplies of essential generic medicines."

The venture, announced by Intermountain in January, said it plans to have its first products ready by as early as next year. It's focused on a group of 14 drugs given in hospitals, but a spokesman for the group declined to identify them. Liljenquist said that the drugs are in categories such as pain relief, antipsychotics, antibiotics and cardiovascular treatments, including drugs that are stocked on so-called crash carts used in emergencies.

Also at NPR, CNBC, The Washington Post, and Forbes.

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 07 2018, @02:44PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 07 2018, @02:44PM (#731766)

    Non-profit usually performs poorer than for profit, although non-profits often outperform government run enterprises.

    Citation needed.

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