Premier Joint Venture with VGYAAN Pharmaceuticals Launches First Product

Today Premier is announcing the launch of the first drug developed through its existing partnership with VGYAAN Pharmaceuticals LLC. The first product under this partnership is an injectable medication used in a variety of therapeutic indications that has been on and off the FDA drug shortage list numerous times over the past five years. Additional products for co-development are being identified with the guidance of Premier member health systems representing thousands of hospitals across the nation.

Headquartered in Skillman, New Jersey with existing production capacity in the U.S., VGYAAN focuses on developing and commercializing clinically critical therapeutics that traditionally experience supply chain volatility, including generic injectables. With approximately 40 percent of generic drugs supplied by a single manufacturer, Premier’s investment in the partnership is helping to:

• Increase capacity of at-risk products;
• Promote greater competition into the pharmaceutical market;
• Support a sustainable approach to U.S.-based manufacturing; and
• Secure the reliable supply of pharmaceutical products for healthcare providers and patients.

“Premier’s investment to co-develop at-risk drugs is a critical step forward in addressing supply chain challenges and pervasive drug shortages,” said Gary Kerr, Chief Pharmacy Officer at Baystate Health, a Premier member hospital system based in Springfield, Massachusetts. “The high cost of development coupled with the low return on investment for these generic injectables serves as a deterrent for new manufacturers to enter the market. Premier’s investment provides incentive for manufacturers and encourages the creation of a healthy, competitive market.”

Healthcare providers continue to navigate more than 200 active drug shortages every quarter ─ shortages that contribute to sub-optimal patient outcomes and an estimated $230 million in additional annual costs. According to the FDA, drug shortages have grown more persistent since 2014, with many shortages lasting for multiple years at a time. The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded pharmaceutical sourcing challenges.

“The launch of the first product developed through this partnership is another critical step forward in Premier’s decades-long work to reliably source at-risk products and eliminate drug shortages,” said Premier Chief Pharmacy Officer Jessica Daley. “Together with our members and partners, we’re addressing this critical public health need, and we’ll continue to implement real, pioneering solutions that help secure the supply of vital drugs at a fair price.”

“VGYAAN Pharmaceuticals was founded with the mission of bringing to market high-quality and cost-effective clinically critical therapies. We are truly humbled and excited about our partnership with Premier. This partnership is in alignment with our mission and will address supply chain challenges and pervasive drug shortages, ensuring that patients have access to critical medications,” said Nailesh Bhatt, CEO of VGYAAN Pharmaceuticals.

For more than two decades, Premier has been at the forefront of bringing innovative solutions to the marketplace with a keen intent to address drug shortages and supply chain challenges.

Through innovative programs and commitment-driven models such as ProvideGx, Premier and its members are incenting manufacturers to increase drug supply, invest in redundancies, enter or re-enter markets and explore new therapeutic categories for innovation. Our efforts also include our private label program, PINC AI™ technology suite, our unwavering advocacy efforts on behalf of our members, and our continued investments in domestic and diverse manufacturing, just to name a few. For instance:

• Our investment with DeRoyal Industries Inc. is expected to produce more than 40 million domestically manufactured gowns annually.
• Our collaboration with Honeywell is expected to produce at least 750 million domestically made nitrile exam gloves in the first year alone.
• Our recent investment with Exela is expected to supply 19 pharmaceutical products, including several shortage generic injectables well as 503B pharmaceutical products.

The partnership with VGYAAN further exemplifies Premier’s long-term resiliency strategy — supporting greater production of critical products and helping protect healthcare providers from disruption.

Protecting patient care and the health of our communities is at the heart of our mission. Through our programs and solutions, Premier members have experienced exclusive supply safeguards with access to a broader range of shortage products than anyone else in the market. Although there is still much to do to fix global drug shortages, our commitment to protect providers and patients from drug supply disruption will never waiver.

For More:

• Learn about how ProvideGx is helping to tackle drug shortages and enable greater access to at-risk products
• Explore our comprehensive industry-leading Pharmacy programs and solutions
• To learn more about our VGYAAN partnership and other Premier Pharmacy solutions, Premier members can contact Wayne Russell