Anthem joins insurer-backed generic drugs effort

• Civica also announced they brought on industry veteran Gina Guinasso, formerly of OptumRx, as president of CivicaScript.

Civica officials say the plan is to develop and manufacture six to 10 common, high-priced generic medications without enough competition to drive down the price.

• They declined to specify which drugs they will target. They also said they are planning to launch their first drug in 2022 but declined to be more specific.

With its 43 million members, Anthem was a significant addition to the initiative by bringing a larger piece of the market to the table, said Martin VanTrieste, Civica Rx's CEO.

• "It also allows us to be more efficient in manufacturing. Efficiency in manufacturing allows us to reduce our cost which can be passed on to the consumer," he said.