Civica, a Lehi-based nonprofit pharmaceutical company created to prevent and mitigate drug shortages, has announced that Avera, a nonprofit healthcare provider in the upper Midwest United States, has joined the company.
Avera is a regional health system based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, comprising more than 300 locations in 100 communities throughout South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota.
Civica operates its CivicaScript not-for-profit generic drug company concept that was launched in 2018 as Civica Rx by a group of seven health systems, including Utah’s Intermountain Health. The group’s expressed goals at founding were to prevent and mitigate drug shortages and to significantly reduce the cost of high-priced generics. Civica Rx evolved to CivicaScript in 2020.
Under the Civica model, hospitals enter market-stabilizing contracts directly with the company, avoiding middlemen players. Doctors and pharmacists at member hospitals choose the drugs that Civica provides. Civica offers all members the same cost-plus price for these products, regardless of hospital size, and strives to provide six months of buffer inventory.
“The partnership with Civica helps us better serve our patients by providing them the medicines they need at point of care,” said Thomas Johnson, vice president of diagnostic and therapeutic services at Avera. “Civica offers us an additional tool to ensure stability of supply and predictability of cost for medications, allowing us to focus our time on our priority: our patients.”
Since its founding, Civica has grown its membership and expanded its product offerings. Today, nearly 60 health systems are Civica members, which includes approximately 1,400 hospitals. The company currently delivers more than 70 drugs, including antibiotics, cardiovascular and pain medications used in urgent care settings, chosen by their member hospitals because they are at risk of shortage.