Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new state contract on Saturday morning, March 18, that officials say will leverage the state’s generic drug label to bring $30 insulin to California, cutting costs for the medicine by 90% — while saving patients thousands of dollars annually.
California will use the same model to soon manufacture its own Naloxone, the medicine that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses, Newsom also announced.
The insulin contract, between the the state’s generic drug label CalRx and manufacturer CIVICA, aims to “prevent the egregious cost-shifting that happens in traditional pharmaceutical price games,” according to early details the governor’s office released Saturday morning, hours before Newsom was set to speak publicly about the deal during an event in Los Angeles County.
Because the state can manufacture and distribute the insulin itself, patients will be able to buy the medicine for the same price it costs to make it, according to the announcement.
Under the contract, according to Newsom’s office:
- A 10-milliliter vial will be made available for no more than $30 (normally $300).
- A box of five prefilled 3-milliliter pens will be made available for no more than $55 (normally more than $500).
- No new prescription will be needed. Californians will be able to ask for the CalRx generic at their local pharmacy or via mail order pharmacies.
- CalRx plans to make biosimilar insulins available for Glargine, Aspart and Lispro (expected to be interchangeable with Lantus, Humalog, and Novolog respectively).
“People should not be forced to go into debt to get life saving prescriptions,” Newsom said in a statement included in the morning announcement. “Through CalRx, Californians will have access to some of the most inexpensive insulin available, helping them save thousands each year.”
Lowering the price of insulin, and life-saving medications in general, has become a cause célèbre in recent years, both nationally and in California.
In…
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