Novartis’ generic drug arm, Sandoz, has entered into a long-term agreement with Civica Rx to manufacture and supply critical injectable generic medicines, to help reduce supply shortages and ensure acute care settings can deliver optimal patient care.

Under the five-year agreement, Sandoz will supply six injectable medicines widely used at Civica's 1,200 U.S. member hospitals, to help ensure patients have access to high-quality, critical medicines when needed. These include antibiotics, acid reducers, blood thinners, blood pressure regulators and medicines required in the operating room. Initial supply is expected to begin shipping to Civica later this year.

"Frequent supply shortages of critical generic medicines result in additional pressure for hospitals and their staff and often lead to sub-optimal patient care,” said Carol Lynch, president, Sandoz. “Our partnership with Civica is delivering on a shared purpose to help ensure patient access to critical, high-quality medicines for years to come. Our associates are inspired every day to deliver on this purpose, even more so during this time of increased demand due to the global healthcare crisis."

In a survey of 700-plus hospital pharmacy managers conducted in 2018, 70% said that, on at least 50 occasions in the prior year, they were unable to provide hospitals with medicines needed to treat their patients because of shortages.

With collaborations like Civica, where Sandoz has long-term contracts with pre-committed orders, it can better predict supply requirements for those medicines in order to sustainably deliver them to customers and patients.

"With Sandoz by our side, we will be able to stabilize the supply of more vital medicines used in hospitals daily and in times of crisis," said Martin VanTrieste, president and chief executive officer, Civica Rx. "Sandoz brings over 100 years of experience to Civica's mission and is a trusted leader in the generic drug industry with a reputation for exceptional supply reliability. We are proud to partner with Sandoz to ensure doctors, nurses and pharmacists have the medicines they need for essential patient care."

Civica is a non-profit organization committed to making quality generic medicines available and affordable to its hospital members, which to date include more than 50 health systems, representing 1,200 hospitals and more than 30 percent of all licensed U.S. hospital beds.