WAUSAU – Aspirus has joined a national effort to stabilize the supply and affordability of essential generic drugs so positive benefits can be brought to patients Aspirus serves in north central Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.
Aspirus announced this week that it has partnered with Civica Rx, a nonprofit, non-stock company based in Utah that promotes the availability of affordable, essential generic drugs for use in patient care. The Civica Rx venture was established in 2018 and is a collaborative effort between philanthropies and health systems that represents more than 800 U.S. hospitals to date.
“We think this partnership is of great importance because it will have a positive impact on our patients and it will allow our health professionals to spend more time focusing on excellent, compassionate patient care,” said Gary Rakes, vice president of supply chain at Aspirus, in an Aspirus news release. “When you have persistent drug shortages and cost variability, it requires caregivers to spend valuable time searching for drug alternatives or developing alternative care plans.”
A major focus of Civica Rx is to address the growing frustration caused by persistent shortages of vital generic medications caused by economics and market dynamics. During the past several years, more than 200 drugs have been on and off the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage list, according to Aspirus. These shortages and uncertainty can directly impact patient care at hospitals.
Civica Rx is designed to ensure essential generic medicines are consistently accessible and affordable for its partners within a robust and reliable supply chain. As part of the initial focus of the company’s efforts, Civica expects to bring more than 14 hospital-administered generic drugs to hospitals and health care systems in 2019.
Going forward, additional medications will be prioritized as they are identified by member health care systems to have the greatest impact on patient care. The company is working toward becoming an FDA-approved manufacturer and will either directly manufacture generic drugs or sub-contract manufacturing to trusted supply partners.
