CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC), through its ProvideGx™ program, has partnered with Fresenius Kabi to supply Diprivan® (propofol) injectable emulsion, USP to healthcare providers, helping to stabilize the long-term supply of a medication vital for COVID-19 patient care.
Diprivan is indicated for anesthesia and sedation, including for patients who require sedation during mechanical ventilation. Diprivan is a unique formulation of propofol that uses an antimicrobial retardant (EDTA or disodium edetate) that may help inhibit microbial growth should contamination occur. Diprivan is also commonly used as an anesthetic in many elective surgical procedures.
According to Premier data, demand for propofol nationwide during the peak of the pandemic (April) spiked to about six times historical rates, while fill rates in the United States fell to less than 50 percent of ordered quantities, particularly for larger vial sizes preferred for 24-hour ventilator sedation. As a result, the product was added to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage list in the same month.
“The supply of propofol started to stabilize in June as production and deliveries were expedited,” said Premier’s President, Michael J. Alkire. “A simultaneous resumption of electives in some parts of the country, coupled with increasing COVID-19 cases across the nation, could lead to a second spike in demand and more widespread shortages. As such, Premier and Fresenius Kabi are partnering to take swift action to assure adequate supply and manage this surge. This agreement secures a reliable supply of both the smaller size Diprivan vials used in elective surgeries, as well as larger vial sizes needed for ventilator sedation.”
Premier’s ProvideGx program identifies safe, high-quality supply sources for drugs that are or may be at risk of being added to the national drug shortage list. Guided by health systems with more than 1,600 hospitals across the nation, Premier’s ProvideGx program creates long-term committed buying contracts that provide participating manufacturers with the surety needed to increase production. Premier’s programs, including ProvideGx, currently provide members access to more than 150 drugs that are or have been recently designated as shortage drugs, including metoprolol; cysteine hydrochloride; sodium bicarbonate; diphenhydramine; hydromorphone; lidocaine; morphine; thiamine; phytonadione injection; amiodarone; sterile water; ibutilide fumarate; vincristine sulfate; and emergency, pre-filled syringes of calcium chloride, epinephrine, sodium bicarbonate, atropine sulfate, dextrose and lidocaine. All manufacturers participating in the program are vetted to enable more geographically diverse production capability, adequate safety stocks and surge capabilities to meet sudden spikes in demand.
Fresenius Kabi is a leading manufacturer of injectable medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition.
To help meet a potential future surge in demand, Fresenius Kabi is committed to retaining a significant strategic safety stock of Diprivan for Premier members, sourcing raw materials from multiple regions, producing finished doses in multiple locations and staging inventory in multiple U.S. logistics centers.
With wide-ranging effects on patient care, drug shortages can add time and expense as providers search for therapeutic alternatives and manage supplies, potentially delaying certain elective hospital procedures. ProvideGx is part of Premier’s ongoing effort to help facilitate the availability of high-quality products, including drugs for which there may be supply challenges. Premier currently is targeting more than 50 critical drugs to secure for healthcare providers across the nation. In doing so, Premier is working to help insulate its members from supply fluctuations that may affect the market at large.
“We welcome the opportunity to partner with Premier to help hospitals respond to public health crises like COVID-19 and we share Premier’s vision of a robust and resilient supply chain for critical pharmaceuticals,” said Scott Meacham, President, Pharmaceuticals and Devices, at Fresenius Kabi USA.
The financial terms of Premier’s agreement with Fresenius Kabi were not disclosed.
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts, 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 the actual results, performance or achievements of Premier to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements in the conditional or future tenses or that include terms such as “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “estimates,” “intends,” “anticipates” or “plans” to be uncertain and forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include comments as to Premier’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside Premier’s control. More information on potential factors that could affect Premier’s financial results is included from time to time in the “Forward-Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Premier’s periodic and current filings with the SEC and available on Premier’s website at investors.premierinc.com. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Premier undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise that occur after that date.
About Premier Inc.
Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals and health systems and approximately 175,000 other providers and organizations to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and consulting and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier’s news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Premier’s blog for more information about the company.
