Dr Marc Harrison and Dan Liljenquist
Intermountain Healthcare starting a not-for-profit company to be able to alleviate drug shortages and help people save money.
They are joining forces with four other hospital systems to create the new company that will make generic drugs.
Right now they call it project Rx, and they can’t say which drugs they will make, but they have a target of around 20 that in recent years have seen sky-high increases in costs. It will be starting in the hospital system, so pill and IV form.
They say it will be a not-for-profit company headquartered in Utah with national and international partners and suppliers, but more information will be coming on that within the next year or so.
Intermountain says certain generic drug manufacturers have been widely criticized for unwarranted and egregious price increases and for creating artificial shortages of lifesaving medications. These activities have resulted in some generic drugs increasing in cost by more than 1000% in just a few months for seemingly no reason. The organizations represent hundreds of hospitals around the U.S., including many in Utah.
