Novartis signs five-year deal with Civica Rx on injectable medicines manufacturing

The agreement is aimed at helping to reduce essential drug shortages in the US

Under the five-year agreement, Sandoz will supply six injectable medicines including antibiotics, acid reducers, blood thinners, blood pressure regulators and medicines required for operations which are all widely used at Civica’s 1,200 US member hospitals, to help ensure patients have access to high-quality, critical medicines when needed.

Initial supply is expected to begin shipping to Civica later this year.

“Frequent supply shortages of critical generic medicines result in additional pressure for hospitals and their staff and often lead to sub-optimal patient care,” said Carol Lynch, president of Sandoz.

"With Sandoz by our side, we will be able to stabilize the supply of more vital medicines used in hospitals daily and in times of crisis,” said Martin VanTrieste, president and CEO of Civica Rx.

Civica Rx’s hospital members to date include more than 50 health systems, representing 1,200 hospitals and more than 30 percent of all licensed US hospital beds.

Non-profit pharma firm Civica Rx will manufacture the finished dosage product on the same site as Phlow's precursor and API production and distribute via a network of more than 1,200 hospitals.

In late May, Civica, a generics maker started by hospitals fed up with rising drug prices, joined a Trump administration-funded initiative to produce a domestic generic supply of COVID-19 drugs.

In May, Civica signed up to a US government-funded initiative to manufacture generic COVID-19 treatments domestically.

Pharma start-up company Phlow Corporation won an eye-catching USD 354 million contract from the US government to manufacture generics and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) needed for drugs in short supply, including COVID-19 treatments.

Under the terms of that agreement, Phlow is leading a team of private sector entities including Civica Rx and the Medicines for All Institute among others.

Civica Rx and its partners will manufacture finished dosage products of essential medicines, including vials and syringes.