Hospital-owned generic drug company has a name and CEO

Martin VanTrieste, a former executive at pharmaceutical firm Amgen, has been named CEO of Civica Rx, the new hospital-owned company that will make 14 generic drugs and start selling them to a third of U.S. hospitals by next year. The not-for-profit Civica Rx said VanTrieste won't draw any salary or health benefits.

The big picture: The idea for Civica Rx spawned earlier this year because the founding hospitals were fed up with generic drug companies raising prices on products that were in short supply. Civica Rx would not say which hospital-based drugs it will manufacture, but it's reasonable to expect some may be on the FDA's shortage list.