Civica Rx has announced plans to manufacture and distribute insulins that, once approved, will be available to people with diabetes at significantly lower prices than insulins now on the market. The availability of affordable insulins will benefit people with diabetes who have been forced to choose between life-sustaining medicines and living expenses, particularly those uninsured or underinsured who often pay the most out-of-pocket for their medications.
Civica is collaborating on this effort with partners that represent nearly every corner of the diabetes ecosystem, including Intermountain Healthcare.
“Diabetes is arguably America’s most expensive chronic condition, and it is heartbreaking that millions of people are rationing their care and putting their lives at risk because they can no longer afford insulin,” says Dan Liljenquist, board chair of Civica, Intermountain chief strategy officer, and the innovator behind Civica’s nonprofit business model. “Through mission-driven partnerships, we’re choosing to create a new market reality where no one is forced to ration essential diabetes medications.”
Civica will manufacture three types of insulin, which make up about 80 percent of insulin prescriptions in the United States. The three types, which correspond to Lantus, Humalog, and Novolog, will be offered in vials and disposable pens.
Civica insulin will be available in retail and online pharmacies that agree to charge no more than Civica’s recommended price, which will be $30 or less per vial and $55 or less for five insulin pens.
“The current high-priced environment for insulin has resulted in some people being forced to ration the insulin they need,” says Intermountain CEO Marc Harrison, MD. “Long-term complications include heart disease, kidney damage, blindness, and more. But well-controlled diabetes reduces the incidence of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, amputation, and renal failure needing dialysis. This game-changing move by Civica will produce a tremendous health benefit for millions of individuals who have the disease.”
Intermountain helped develop and launch Civica in 2018 to improve the availability and affordability of generic medications routinely used in U.S. hospitals, with a focus on preventing chronic drug shortages and the price spikes that often accompany them. Headquartered in Lehi, Utah, its members now include 1,500 hospitals nationwide, and its medications have been used by 27 million patients. Since its founding, the Civica movement has produced 60 medicines, including some used to fight COVID-19.
Civica’s insulin won’t be available for two more years because of the time it takes to obtain FDA approval and to ramp up production. But because the FDA has already approved similar insulins, the development pathway is clear. Civica will complete all the clinical trials and meet all the standards necessary for FDA approval, and anticipates full approval in early 2024.
The insulins will be manufactured at Civica’s state-of-the-art 140,000 square-foot manufacturing plant being built in Petersburg, Virginia. The facility will ultimately have the capacity to produce a substantial amount of the insulin needed in the United States, with additional space to increase production if necessary.
The World Health Organization says, “Insulin is the bedrock of diabetes treatment—it turns a deadly disease into a manageable one.” And thanks to Civica, diabetes will be not only less deadly, but less expensive.
Civica by the numbers
- Civica provides about 60 generic sterile injectable medicines in various dosage forms to more than 55 hospital systems, representing more than 1,500 hospitals and one-third of all licensed hospital beds in the United States (Civica also supplies the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Defense).
- To date, Civica has provided approximately 68 million vials or syringes of essential generic medications to hospitals, which have been used to treat about 27 million patients.
- Eleven Civica medications have been used to help care for COVID-19 patients, including neuromuscular blocking agents, sedatives, pain management medications, and blood thinners.
- Civica’s new manufacturing plant will include disposable technology and advanced technology filling lines to produce 90 million vials and 50 million pre-filled syringes a year—enough to meet the demands of approximately 50 million patients a year.
- Civica is governed by leading hospital systems—including Intermountain Healthcare, CommonSpirit Health, HCA Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, Memorial Hermann, Providence St. Joseph Health, and SSM Health Trinity Health—and several philanthropies.