Civica Rx joined forces with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and 18 of its health plans to create a new subsidiary to further its mission of lowering the cost of generic drugs.
The partnership will expand on Civica's mission by focusing on making generic drugs affordable outside of the hospital setting, the companies said Jan. 23. The main objective of the partnership is to provide greater access to much-needed medications.
To do so, the subsidiary will acquire and develop abbreviated new drug applications for select generics. They plan to start with several drugs they identified as having a high potential for savings and will add more drugs later. They expect the first drugs to be available in early 2022.
The BCBS plans are investing a combined $55 million in the deal, according to STAT.
Civica and BCBS encouraged other health plans, employers, retail partners and healthcare innovators to join the subsidiary to help them achieve their collective goal.
The health plans participating in the subsidiary cover about 40 million people, Maureen Sullivan, chief strategy and innovation officer at BCBS, told STAT. She expects about $100 million in annual savings for beneficiaries through lower drug costs, copays and premiums.
Read the full news release here.