Lehi-based CivicaScript enters lower-cost drug market with its first product

CivicaScript, a Lehi-based company formed by a nationwide consortium of healthcare provider companies to develop lower-cost generic medicines for U.S. consumers, has announced the availability of its first product: abiraterone acetate 250 mg tablets. Abiraterone is used together with steroid medication (prednisone) to treat prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.

CivicaScript is now offering abiraterone 250 mg for sale to pharmacies for $160 per bottle of 120 tablets — typically a month’s supply. CivicaScript recommends that pharmacies charge patients no more than $171 per bottle (CivicaScript’s maximum retail price, or MaxRP). This is about $3,000 per month less than the average cost for someone with Medicare Part D, the type of insurance people with prostate cancer are most likely to have. Part D patients who use CivicaScript’s abiraterone product will significantly reduce their out-of-pocket cost both during the deductible phase, in which they pay full price for drugs, and during the “doughnut hole” phase, when they again face substantial out-of-pocket costs.

Abiraterone was chosen by CivicaScript members as a priority generic medicine based on its high list price from other manufacturers and significant patient need for the product, the company said in a release.

“This is a proud day for CivicaScript as we advance our mission to make generic medicines affordable and available to everyone,” said CivicaScript President Gina Guinasso. “I want to thank our members for their active participation in our drug-selection process, which ensures we are focusing on the right medications at the right time, and where we believe we can have immediate impact on people’s lives.”

CivicaScript was co-founded in 2020 by Civica Inc., the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and 18 independent and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies to bring affordable versions of common but high-priced generic medicines to market. Its model is to identify select high-priced generic medicines and work with manufacturing partners to bring them to market at a fraction of their current cost. CivicaScript then works with like-minded payors, PBMs and pharmacies across the country who pass along the cost savings to their customers.

Civica Inc. was formed in 2018 as 501(c)(4) social welfare organization to address chronic generic drug shortages and related price spikes in the United States. It was founded by health systems, including Utah’s Intermountain Healthcare, and a number of philanthropies. Dan Liljenquist, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Salt Lake City’s Intermountain Healthcare, is the lead architect and board chair of Civica.

“We’re proud the first lower-cost generic drug of our partnership with CivicaScript is entering the market,” said Kim Keck, president and CEO of BCBSA. “This is an important milestone in our shared commitment to help make prescription drugs more affordable for millions of Americans. No one should have to face breaking the bank from buying a life-saving medication.”

Initially, CivicaScript’s abiraterone will be available through Lumicera Health Services, a specialty pharmacy that focuses on medicines for chronic and serious conditions, and through Intermountain Healthcare. Additional pharmacies will be listed on the CivicaScript website as they come on board. “We welcome the partnership of other health plans, employers and pharmacies who share our belief that patients come before profits,” Guinasso said.

The guiding principle for CivicaScript’s portfolio development is to target both specialty and traditional generics where there is greatest opportunity to substantially reduce prices for patients, according to the company statement. The organization is initially focused on six to 10 medications for which there currently is not enough market competition to ensure low, sustainable prices.

Starting in 2024, CivicaScript also intends to distribute low-priced insulin, which will be manufactured by Civica, subject to FDA approval. Civica is building a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Petersburg, Virginia, and has entered into a co-development and commercial agreement with GeneSys Biologics for three insulin biosimilars: glargine, lispro and aspart. Civica plans to set a recommended price to the consumer of no more than $30 per insulin vial and no more than $55 for a box of five insulin pen cartridges, a significant discount to prices charged to uninsured individuals today.