Today, Riverside Health System announced a new collaboration with Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC), a leading technology-driven healthcare improvement company, and Exela® Pharma Sciences, LLC to secure vital supply of pharmaceutical products and support domestic production.
Riverside, along with Premier and 10 other U.S. health systems, acquired a minority stake in Exela Holdings, Inc., the holding company of Exela® Pharma Sciences, LLC. Via the collaboration, Riverside will gain expanded access to 19 pharmaceutical products, including several generic injectables that frequently appear on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage list, as well as 503B pharmaceutical products made by Exela.
“With this investment, Riverside is helping create new domestic and diverse sources of vital therapeutics to help insulate these drugs from shortages and build supply chain resiliency for the future,” said Bill Downey, CEO of Riverside Health System. “The ability to quickly secure high-quality, affordable medicines from Exela delivers on our commitment to ensuring the highest-quality care for our patients and communities.”
Pervasive drug shortages for more than a decade have led to sub-optimal patient outcomes and approximately $230 million in additional annual drug costs. COVID-19 has exacerbated pharmaceutical sourcing challenges as overseas manufacturing, export bans from large producers of APIs and demand spikes have, at times, left providers struggling to secure basic, life-saving therapies for patients.
Exela primarily sources active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from the United States or Europe and manufactures finished dose products in a recently expanded, state-of-the-art U.S. manufacturing facility in Lenoir, NC. Exela’s manufacturing capacity provides participating Premier members with a unique opportunity to bolster the supply of critical products and support domestic manufacturing infrastructure.
“Riverside is stepping up to help change the way we source critical medicines,” said Michael J. Alkire, President and CEO of Premier. “Riverside is a true innovator, as this partnership and the added domestic supply it provides would not be possible without Riverside’s commitment. Riverside deserves recognition for their leadership and for their contribution to helping bring drug manufacturing back to America.”