Improving Access to Affordable Medication
The Center funds projects that increase access and affordability of medications, while helping to address market failures that affect the supply chain and drug innovation.
A growing number of patients struggle to access prescription drugs due to a combination of high prices, rising costs, opaque market incentives, manufacturing challenges, and supply chain constraints.
Current incentives may favor drug development for expensive, rare disease treatments over lower-cost products with broad societal need. Investment in biopharmaceuticals is guided by scientific innovation, market demand, government approval pathways, intellectual property and patent laws, and product coverage and reimbursement.
Meanwhile, the lack of industry incentives to manufacture lower-cost generic drugs have contributed to dangerous shortages of life saving medications and associated pricing volatility.
The Center works with partners to increase the supply of life-saving drugs, filling a market gap that can help mitigate medication shortages and maintain affordability. Center funding also supports research to better understand the commercial and regulatory forces that shape the cost of treatments and identify solutions to address unmet needs.
Our Projects
Addressing Shortages and High Prices of Life-Saving Medications
Civica Rx
The Center is a funder and founding partner of Civica Rx, a not-for-profit generic drug company. Civica Rx partners with public and private health systems to ensure that generic drugs susceptible to manufacturing shortages are affordable and available to patients.
Closing gaps between clinical innovation and unmet population health need
The Center has partnered with Gates Ventures to fund a multi-year research initiative led by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This initiative will be carried out by an independent committee of multi-disciplinary experts who will assess the relationship between investment in pharmaceutical innovation and the nation’s health needs.
Groundbreaking California-Civica Rx Partnership Will Increase Access to Low-Cost Insulin
The Peterson Center on Healthcare supports the growing national movement toward lower costs and improved outcomes in healthcare.
Peterson Center on Healthcare Announces $5M Support for New Effort to Manufacture and Distribute Low-Cost Insulin
The Peterson Center on Healthcare announced $5 million of funding to CivicaRx to support an innovative effort to create low-cost insulin.
Three National Foundations Commit $30 Million to Civica Rx, a Groundbreaking Effort to Address Shortages and High Prices of Life-saving Medications
To address shortages and rising prices, three national foundations committed $30 million to help establish Civica Rx, a nonprofit generic drug company.