A partnership between Premier Inc.’s ProvideGx program and Exela Pharma Sciences LLC resolves a national shortage of cysteine hydrochloride injection, Premier announced Tuesday.
The drug, which is used for patients who require parenteral nutrition, had been in continual shortage since 2015, the company said in a press release. The ProvideGx program works to “bring drugs to market from a target list of more than 60 shortage products,” according to the company’s website.
Exela Pharma Sciences, a specialty pharmaceutical company based in Lenoir, N.C., is currently the only FDA-approved manufacturer of cysteine hydrochloride injection.
Cysteine hydrochloride injection was officially removed from the Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage website on Sept. 4, two months after it entered the market in a supply deal with ProvideGx.
“We have always had the utmost confidence that our approach to tackling drug shortages would produce real, tangible results,” Michael J. Alkire, president of Premier, said in a statement. “This is a model that works, and we are proud of our collaboration with Exela.”
Alkire said the company hopes to replicate this success with other drugs experiencing shortages.
Premier, based in Charlotte, is a group purchasing organization for healthcare providers. Premier stock was trading at $28.97 on Tuesday, up 12 cents.
