Premier, Inc. Partners with Leading Manufacturers to Secure the Supply of Five Vital Medications

CHARLOTTE, N.C., January 17, 2024 — Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC), through its ProvideGx® program, has partnered with Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Exela Pharma Sciences and Hikma Pharmaceuticals to supply five vital medications to healthcare providers, helping to meet the immediate and long-term supply needs of drugs necessary for a range of patient care interventions.

With production of both active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished product, Amneal will supply potassium phosphate – a key electrolyte drug used to treat or prevent hypophosphatemia or low phosphorus in the blood.

“At Amneal, we are committed to reliably providing patients and providers the high-quality medicines they need most through our robust network of injectable manufacturing sites,” said Harsher Singh, Senior Vice President of Biosciences at Amneal. “With vertical API integration that supports greater resiliency, the addition of potassium phosphate to ProvideGx® helps secure stable supply for a product critical to patient care, while driving long-term market sustainability.”

Exela will supply cupric chloride, potassium acetate and zinc chloride – adding to the ProvideGx® electrolyte category portfolio. Premier and member health systems' investment in Exela, a domestic supplier, has enabled the expansion of Exela's portfolio to include U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals for new abbreviated drug applications.

“At Exela, our mission is to expedite the availability of high-quality, affordable medicines,” said Phanesh Koneru, Exela Pharma Sciences President and CEO. “Through the process of bringing these products to the market, we worked collaboratively with the FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs and Drug Shortage Divisions to secure our approval, and with ProvideGx® to ensure we had a viable sales channel once we were cleared for production. Introducing these drugs is another example of our commitment to patients in need.”

Hikma will supply injectable fentanyl – a controlled substance used to prevent pain for short periods of time, usually before anesthesia is administered or immediately after surgical procedures. As COVID-19 cases and other respiratory ailments increase, demand for this injectable drug has risen. For instance, fentanyl is often used to provide pain relief to patients receiving mechanical ventilation in their treatment for COVID-19, causing demand for this drug to spike 7.5X during peak periods.

“Hikma shares Premier’s commitment to provide U.S. hospitals with the essential medicines they need to treat patients and we have a strong record of using our significant U.S. and global manufacturing capabilities to address the urgent needs of the U.S. healthcare system,” said Joel Rosenstack, Chief Commercial Officer of North America Injectables for Hikma. “We’re pleased to expand our partnership with Premier and their ProvideGx® program to continue delivering a reliable supply of essential medicines for hospitals and patients across the U.S.”

Many of these five medications are identified on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) list of essential medicines – those that are medically necessary to have available at all times in an amount adequate to serve patient needs and in the appropriate dosage forms.

“Through strategic collaborations with these and other leading suppliers, ProvideGx® continues its legacy and action to help eliminate drug shortages for our healthcare provider members, enhance market competition and promote more predictable, long-term prices,” said Jessica Daley, Group Vice President of Supply Chain and Chief Pharmacy Officer, Premier. “Together, we’re helping to ensure a sustainable supply of five essential drugs for routine and elective care.”

Guided by health systems with more than 1,600 hospitals across the nation, Premier’s ProvideGx® and PremierProRx® programs create long-term committed buying contracts with participating manufacturers – creating a steady demand signal and guaranteed buyer base in exchange for increasing production of generics in shortage, maintaining safety stocks or diversifying supply sources. These programs offer members access to more than 150 drugs that are or have been recently designated as shortage drugs, and have successfully helped resolve 15 drug shortages, resulting in their official delisting from the FDA’s shortage list.

“Sourcing these essential medications has been an ongoing challenge,” said Sean M. Illig, Manager of Pharmacy Supply Chain, Acute Care Pharmacy at Baystate Health, a Premier member hospital system based in Springfield, Massachusetts.” “The unique ProvideGx model allows us and other U.S. hospitals a seat at the table to help select which drugs are most critical to add to the program – helping to ensure continuous product and build greater supply chain resiliency.”

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts, including but not limited to those related to Premier’s ability to advance its long-term strategies and develop innovations for and transform healthcare, and the intended or expected performance or utility of Premier’s products and services, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause performance or achievements to be materially different from historical results or from any future performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. More information on risk factors relating to Premier and its products and services is included from time to time in the “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors,” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Premier’s periodic filings with the SEC, which are also made available on Premier’s website at investors.premierinc.com. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Premier undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events that occur after that date, or otherwise.