Civica Rx announced a plan to build a major manufacturing facility to produce sterile injectable drugs for hospitals, a major step for the organization comprised of health systems such as Mayo and Intermountain.
The $124.5 million project is planned for Petersburg, Virginia—just south of Richmond—and is expected to potentially create more than 180 jobs.
The 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility aims to address a major source of shortages for hospitals. Sterile injectable drugs have been a source of shortages in recent years due in part to fewer companies making the products, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
“This is a dream come true for Civica and our hospital partners as we continue to work together to stabilize the supply of essential medicines for patients across the country,” President and CEO Martin VanTrieste said in a statement.
The goal is for the factory to produce 90 million vials and 50 million prefilled syringes a year.
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VanTrieste said the factory will include highly automated technology to make the complex drugs.
“Civica has initiated facility construction and expects to begin operations within three years,” the organization said in a release.
Civica is a collaborator in the U.S. government-funded partnership with Phlow Corp., the Medicines for All Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University and AMPAC Fine Chemicals, which is also located in Petersburg, officials said. Through this partnership, Phlow executed a $354 million contract with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to manufacture essential medications from beginning to end while Civica produced finished dosage medications in vials and syringes for patient care in Civica member hospitals and for the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile, they said.
This is the latest step for the organization that is comprised of more than 50 health systems. It has 41 different generic medications available for hospitals in multiple dosage forms and aims to build toward 100 drugs in the next two years.
Civica also made a deal last January with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association to make generic drugs.