High drug costs spur hospitals to make their own

U.S. hospital groups, start-ups, and nonprofits have been impatient for years of doing nothing about the cost of prescription drugs in Washington to combat stubborn high prices and a persistent shortage of drugs. I started making my own medicine.

Efforts are at various stages, but some have already been administered in millions of doses before shipping. Almost half of US hospitals get some medicine from the project, and as work accelerates, more medicine should be available in retail pharmacies by the end of next year.

Most groups are working on generics, but at least one is trying to develop branded medicines. Both aim to sell the drug at prices well below the prices charged by competitors.

“These companies are working on different parts of the problem and trying to come up with new solutions,” said Stacy Dusetzina, a professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University. “People should have access to the medicines that work for them without breaking.”

While some projects have solved supply problems and reduced hospital dosing costs, drug pricing experts are divided on how much consumers will benefit.

Generic HIV prophylaxis emphasizes finances …

04:37

Dusetzina said the effort could lead to the necessary price competition, at least for some drugs.

Trend news

Lower patient costs?

Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, a researcher at Harvard Medical School and a pricing expert at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, believes these projects “can absolutely reduce patient out-of-pocket costs.” ..

But while the project is a workaround that helps the niche, David Mitchell, founder of the independent consumer group Patients for Affordable Drugs, said the project was “not enough to fix a broken system.”

Civica Rx was started three years ago by a consortium of hospitals. Currently, we provide more than 50 chronically deficient generic injections to more than 1,400 hospital members and veterans and defense departments. We have already sold enough medicine to treat 17 million people, including many who were hospitalized with COVID-19.

Currently, it is expanding to directly assist patients, said Martin Van Trieste, CEO. CivicaScript, a new partnership with Anthem and BlueCross health insurance, starts with a selection of 6 or 7 expensive generics. From 2023, the consignment manufacturer Catalent will begin manufacturing these drugs for sale at 50,000 retail pharmacies.

Other “alternative pharmaceutical companies”

Other “alternative pharmaceutical companies” include:

• Premier Inc. And Phlow Corp. The two companies focused on providing hospital members with affordable generics that are chronically in short supply.
• NP2 is about to start manufacturing cheaper generic IV cancer treatments.
• EQRx creates branded drugs for cancer and inflammatory diseases and sells them at “significantly cheaper prices” than rival brands.

Wal-Mart brand insulin could lower prices …

04:49

Wal-Mart recently added insulin to its own branded product for diabetics. We partner with the manufacturer Novo Nordisk to sell our own version of the Meal Insulin NovoLog for less than half the price of NovoLog.

Even entrepreneur Mark Cuban gave his name and money to a public interest corporation that seeks to provide cheaper alternatives to high-cost generic drugs that exceed manufacturing costs by 15%. No insurance required.

Founder and CEO Dr. Alex Oshmyansky launched Mark Cuba Costplus Drugs’ first drug, tablets for parasitic infections, in January, about 40 per two-dose treatment through an independent pharmacy. He said he sells for dollars. The company is building a factory in Dallas, but is currently paying other manufacturers. We aim to launch up to 100 types of medicines by the end of the year.

Vanderbilt’s Dusetzina believes Cuban companies are in the best position to reduce out-of-pocket costs.

“Chasing a product with little competition is a really great project, and there are also soaring prices,” she said.

Because branded drugs have been monopolized under US patent law for up to 20 years, most alternative pharmaceutical companies are targeting certain non-patented drugs whose prices have risen dramatically in recent years.

Generics are usually cheap. However, generic manufacturers have merged as buyers have barely demanded break-even prices for these drugs over the past few decades. With fewer factories manufacturing certain generics, even temporary factory closures have created a permanent shortage. Intensifying competition has also led to significant price increases, often requiring doctors to try costly and ineffective alternatives, and hospital pharmacists to find alternatives to the missing drugs. I had to spend a lot of time.

Phlow aims to revolutionize its pharmaceutical supply chain

05:33

Their long-standing shortage has spurred the formation of Civica. Premier Inc., the hospital group’s top purchasing organization, has also launched a program by contractors that manufacture more than 60 products for approximately 850 member hospitals, said Jessica Daley, chief pharmacy officer. .. The two groups say they have obtained a large number of drugs from the country’s shortage list.

Phlow Corp, a public interest pharmaceutical company funded primarily by government grants. In March, it partnered with the top 11 children’s hospitals to address the shortfall by producing child-sized generics for cancer and other life-threatening conditions. Phlow and Civica are building a factory adjacent to Petersburg, Virginia.

These efforts have helped hospitals stockpile important medications such as sedatives, analgesics, antibiotics and respiratory medications needed by COVID-19 patients.

Increase in domestic production

Alternative pharmaceutical companies hire US contract manufacturers as much as possible to diversify their supply chains, which relied heavily on China and India, which restricted drug and drug exports in the early days of the pandemic, here or in Europe. I am getting pharmaceutical raw materials at. The Biden administration is also working to increase domestic production of essential generics.

Harvard University’s Kesselheim predicts new generic manufacturers that will help increase supply and lower prices, but finds it difficult to develop new branded drugs, as EQRx is trying to do.

EQRx is currently testing 10 new licensed drugs for immune disorders such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. Those that have already been final tested may be available within three years, working with Exscientia, a company that uses artificial intelligence to design and speed up testing. increase.

Insurers were one of EQRx’s early investors, said Melanie Nallicheri, president of the company. They expect the company to make a profit, but she also supports plans to price the drug up to two-thirds of the price of rival branded drugs.

High drug costs spur hospitals to make their own

Source link High drug costs spur hospitals to make their own

By tariqangelini Source: Texas News Today