Under the $50 million deal, the state is partnering with drugmaker Civica to start making the new generic insulin later this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
"This is a big deal, folks," the governor said."This is not happening anywhere else in the United States."
A 10 milliliter vial of insulin can cost as much as $300, Newsom said. Under the new contract, patients who pay out of pocket for insulin could save up to $4,000 per year. The federal government this year put afor certain Medicare enrollees, including senior citizens. Advocates have pushed for years to make insulin more affordable. According to a report published last year in the journalwho use insulin said the cost of the drug forces them to ration their supply.
"This is an extraordinary move in the pharmaceutical industry, not just for insulin but potentially for all kinds of drugs," Robin Feldman, a professor at the University of California San Francisco's College of the Law,."It's a very difficult industry to disrupt, but California is poised to do just that."
The news comes after a handful of drugmakers that dominate the insulin market recently said they would cut the list prices of their insulin.
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