California enters a contract to make its own affordable insulin

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/19/ [login to see] /california-contract-cheap-insulin-calrx
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced a new contract with nonprofit drugmaker Civica Rx, a move that brings the state one step closer to creating its own line of insulin to bring down the cost of the drug.

Once the medicines are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Newsom said at a press conference on Saturday, Civica — under the 10-year agreement with the state worth $50 million — will start making the new CalRx insulins later this year.

The contract covers three forms of insulin — glargine, lispro and aspart. Civica expects them to be interchangeable with popular brand-name insulins: Sanofi's Lantus, Eli Lilly's Humalog and Novo Nordisk's Novolog, respectively.

The state-label insulins will cost no more than $30 per 10 milliliter vial, and no more than $55 for a box of five pre-filled pen cartridges — for both insured and uninsured patients. The medicines will be available nationwide, the governor's office said.

"This is a big deal, folks," the governor said. "This is not happening anywhere else in the United States."