California has entered into a new contract with nonprofit generic drug pharmaceutical company
Civica RX to make $30 insulin accessible to anyone who needs it through CalRX, Gov. Gavin
Newsom announced.
A 10-milliliter vial of insulin will be available for no more than $30, pending approval by the US
Food and Drug Administration, Gov. Newsom announced in March. This 10-year contract with
Civica RX is worth $50 million.
According to Newsom’s office, CalRx plans to make biosimilar insulins available for glargine,
lispro, and aspart. They are expected to be interchangeable with Lantus, Humalog, and Novolog
respectively.
The medicines will be available nationwide, the governor’s office said.
“People should not be forced to go into debt to get life-saving prescriptions. Through CalRx,
Californians will have access to some of the most inexpensive insulin available, helping them
save thousands each year,” Newsom said in a statement.
The cost of insulin has long been a financial burden for many. According to Newsom’s office, a
10-milliliter vial of insulin can cost as much as $300, but under this new contract, those who pay
out of pocket could save between $2,000 and $4,000 a year.
"This is a big deal, folks," the governor said."This is not happening anywhere else in the United
States."
Earlier this year, the federal government began to place a $35 out-of-pocket cap on the cost of
insulin for some Medicare beneficiaries, including senior citizens. Insulin helps blood sugar
enter the cells in your body for use as energy. Without insulin, blood sugar can’t get into cells
and builds up in the bloodstream.
Insulin is particularly critical to those who are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, as their bodies
are unable to produce the hormone or make very little of it.
In addition to driving the cost of insulin down by about 90%, the state is seeking to make its own
Naloxone, a nasal spray to reverse opioid overdose, as a part of its plan to fight the fentanyl
crisis.
"To address the affordability crisis in California, we have to address the high cost of prescription
drugs,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.
“The CalRx Biosimilar Insulin Initiative will benefit Californians who are today paying too much
for a medication that we know is life-saving and life altering.”
California is currently searching for a California-based naloxone manufacturing facility,
according to the release.
