Civica, the nonprofit generic drug manufacturer that health systems created in response to drug shortages, owes 340B covered entities refunds for overcharges on 13 NDCs from April 13, 2020 through Feb. 23, 2021.
Civica posted a public notice this week about the availability of the refunds on the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) website. “Civica has determined the amount owed to each affected covered entity and intends to refund that amount in the form of a credit,” the notice says. “Separate memos will be sent regarding the credit and the applicable NDCs.”
Civica Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer Debbi Ford told 340B Report yesterday its pricing “is calculated to be the lowest sustainable cost for our health system partners.”
“Our initial 340B pricing reflected the appropriate 340B discount for each medication based on the Civica sales price,” Ford said. As Civica has obtained historic baseline average manufacturer price (AMP) data from generic drug manufacturers that make the same products as Civica, “we have made the appropriate updates to the 340B price to capture the necessary adjustment and reflect those updates in our 340B pricing,” she said.
“Civica is working with all 340B covered entity health partners to proactively issue refunds for 13 Civica NDCs,” Ford said.
Ford said more than 50 health systems have joined Civica, representing approximately 1,350 hospitals and nearly one-third of all U.S. hospital beds. To date, Civica has 52 sterile injectable medications available to its member hospitals and is on track for 100 drugs by 2023.
Eleven Civica medications are being used to help COVID-19 patients, including neuromuscular blocking agents, sedation agents, and pain management medications for patients on ventilators, Ford said. Nationally, there were severe shortages of many such medicines during the pandemic’s first wave in 2020.
