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.
“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.
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.
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/
MEDIA CONTACT:
Liz Power
Elizabeth.power@civicarx.org
+1 860 501 3849
