Reduced manufacturing costs mean lower prices for members, patients

LEHI, Utah, Feb. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CivicaScript,® a nonprofit company dedicated to bringing low-cost generic medicines to U.S. consumers, announced today that it has lowered the price of its lead product, Abiraterone Acetate Tablets, USP 250 mg.

• CivicaScript will offer the product for sale to pharmacies for $120 per bottle – a 25 percent reduction from the original price of $160/bottle.
• CivicaScript recommends that pharmacies charge patients no more than $141 per bottle (CivicaScript’s maximum retail policy, or MaxRPTM policy) – a nearly 18 percent price reduction. The bottle of 120 tablets is typically a month’s supply.

The price cut comes at a time when other pharmaceutical manufacturers have announced price increases for many of their medicines in 2025. Meanwhile, a Federal Trade Commission report in January showed that the “Big 3” U.S. pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have been marking up generic abiraterone by 2,300 percent – which can lead to higher costs for health plans and patients while creating profits for these PBMs and their related companies. ¹

“Our business model values patients over profits,” said CivicaScript President Brent J. Eberle, R.Ph., M.B.A. “We’ve secured volume discounts for our abiraterone product that we are passing along to our members and to patients. This price reduction is proof that our model is working.”

CivicaScript plans to launch additional products in 2025.

Abiraterone is used together with steroid medication (prednisone) to treat prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. The new lower MaxRP policy of $141 per bottle is about $2,900 per month less than the average cost for someone with Medicare Part D,² the type of insurance many people with prostate cancer have.³

While many generic medicines cost less than brand-name drugs, some high-cost generics are more expensive than they need to be due to massive PBM markups, lack of competition in the market and other factors. Numerous studies confirm that medication costs can dictate whether patients ration their prescriptions or even fill them in the first place. CivicaScript, its members and its manufacturing partners are working to address that problem.

CivicaScript identifies select high-priced generic medicines and works with manufacturing partners to bring them to market at a fraction of their current cost. The company then works with like-minded payors, PBMs and pharmacies across the country who pass along the cost savings to their customers.

About CivicaScript

CivicaScript is the Civica, Inc. operating unit that is bringing unprecedented transparency to the drug supply chain to make quality generic medicines affordable and available for everyone. The nonprofit company is committed to the principles of providing affordable, essential generic medicines to promote the social welfare and health of the community. CivicaScript’s members represent more than 100 million covered lives in the United States. More member details are available here. For more information on the organization and our mission, visit our website.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Liz Power

Elizabeth.power@civicarx.org

+1 860 501 3849

Important Safety Information for Abiraterone Acetate Tablets, USP 250 mg

What is ABIRATERONE?

• ABIRATERONE is a prescription medicine used along with prednisone. ABIRATERONE is used to treat men with prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
• It is not known if ABIRATERONE is safe and effective in females or children.

Before taking ABIRATERONE, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:

• Have heart or liver problems
• Have diabetes
• Have a history of adrenal or pituitary problems
• Are receiving any other treatment for prostate cancer
• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. ABIRATERONE can cause harm to your unborn baby and loss of pregnancy (miscarriage). Females who are or may become pregnant should not handle ABIRATERONE uncoated tablets or other ABIRATERONE tablets if broken, crushed, or damaged without protection, such as gloves
• Have a partner who is pregnant or may become pregnant
• Males who have female partners who are able to become pregnant should use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with ABIRATERONE and for 3 weeks after the last dose of ABIRATERONE
• Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if ABIRATERONE passes into your breast milk

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take or treatments you receive, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. ABIRATERONE can interact with many other medicines.

You should not start or stop any medicine before you talk with the healthcare provider that prescribed ABIRATERONE.

Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them with you to show to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

How should I take ABIRATERONE?

• Take ABIRATERONE and prednisone exactly as your healthcare provider tells you.
• Take your prescribed dose of ABIRATERONE 1 time a day. Your healthcare provider may change your dose if needed.
• Do not change or stop taking your prescribed dose of ABIRATERONE or prednisone without talking to your healthcare provider first.
• Take ABIRATERONE tablets as a single dose one time a day on an empty stomach. Do not eat food 2 hours before and 1 hour after taking ABIRATERONE.
• Do not take ABIRATERONE with food. Taking ABIRATERONE with food may cause more of the medicine to be absorbed by the body than is needed, and this may cause side effects.
• Swallow ABIRATERONE tablets whole. Do not crush or chew tablets.
• Take ABIRATERONE tablets with water.
• If you miss a dose of ABIRATERONE or prednisone, take your prescribed dose the following day. If you miss more than 1 dose, tell your healthcare provider right away.
• Your healthcare provider will do blood tests to check for side effects.

ABIRATERONE may cause serious side effects, including:

• High blood pressure (hypertension), low blood potassium levels (hypokalemia), fluid retention (edema), and irregular heartbeats can happen during treatment with ABIRATERONE. This can be life-threatening. To decrease the chance of this happening, you must take prednisone with ABIRATERONE exactly as your healthcare provider tells you. Your healthcare provider will check your blood pressure, do blood tests to check your potassium levels, and check for any signs and symptoms of fluid retention every month during treatment with ABIRATERONE.
• Tell your healthcare provider if you get any of the following symptoms:
  • Dizziness
  • Fast or irregular heartbeats
  • Feel faint or lightheaded
  • Headache
  • Confusion
  • Muscle weakness
  • Pain in your legs
  • Swelling in your legs or feet
• Adrenal problems may happen if you stop taking prednisone, get an infection, or are under stress.
• Severe liver problems. You may develop changes in liver function blood tests. Your healthcare provider will do blood tests to check your liver before treatment with ABIRATERONE and during treatment with ABIRATERONE. Liver failure may occur, which can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you notice any of the following changes:
  • Yellowing of the skin or eyes
  • Darkening of the urine
  • Severe nausea or vomiting
• Increased risk of bone fracture and death when ABIRATERONE and prednisone or prednisolone is used in combination with a type of radiation called radium Ra 223 dichloride. Tell your healthcare provider about any other treatments you are taking for prostate cancer.
• Severe low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Severe low blood sugar with ABIRATERONE can happen in people who have diabetes and take certain antidiabetic medicines. You and your healthcare provider should check your blood sugar levels regularly during treatment with ABIRATERONE and after you stop treatment. Your healthcare provider may also need to change the dose of your antidiabetic medicines. Signs and symptoms of low blood sugar may include:
  • Headache
  • Drowsiness
  • Weakness
  • Dizziness
  • Confusion
  • Irritability
  • Hunger
  • Fast heartbeat
  • Sweating
  • Feeling jittery

The most common side effects of ABIRATERONE include:

• Feeling very tired
• Joint pain
• High blood pressure
• Nausea
• Swelling in your legs or feet
• Low blood potassium levels
• Hot flushes
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Infected nose, sinuses, or throat (cold)
• Cough
• Headache
• Low red blood cells (anemia)
• High blood cholesterol and triglycerides
• High blood sugar levels
• Certain other abnormal blood tests

ABIRATERONE may cause fertility problems in males, which may affect the ability to father children. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have concerns about fertility.

THESE ARE NOT ALL THE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF ABIRATERONE.

Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit MedWatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

This information is not comprehensive and does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider about your medical condition or your treatment. Please see full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information.

¹ Specialty Generic Drugs: A Growing Profit Center for Vertically Integrated Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Second Interim Staff Report, January 2025, at 13 (Approximate markup over NADAC on commercial prescriptions dispensed at the Big 3 PBMs’ affiliated pharmacies in 2022) and 11. Available at https://bit.ly/4bcONFp

² Compared to average spend on molecule per claim in 2022. https://bit.ly/4b7YwwI

³ https://gis.cdc.gov/Cancer/USCS/#/Demographics/

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SOURCE CivicaScript