Nonprofit pharma: Revolutionizing the Future of Health Care

For many of us who have sought care through – and all too often been frustrated or even harmed by — the American health care system, “nonprofit pharmaceutical company” might sound like an oxymoron. But trailblazing, mission-driven Medicines360  – the longest-standing nonprofit pharmaceutical company serving the U.S. market – is changing that, proving that this revolutionary new model is not only possible but essential. Nonprofit pharma is about building a health system that works in the public interest by driving down costs and expanding equitable access. That’s why we are proud to partner with Medicines360 and Arnold Ventures on groundbreaking work showing how the Medicines360 nonprofit pharma model works, how it can and should be replicated, and outlining policy solutions that can unleash the nascent industry’s full potential. 

FOCUS

At its inception, Medicines360 sought to tackle an issue the market simply wasn’t delivering on — affordable access to the most effective form of reversible contraception. Tackling this problem meant partnering with the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, safety net providers, and — most importantly — patients. Medicines360 charted this path, bringing to market the first nonprofit contraceptive in the U.S. The proof of its success is in the numbers: as of January 2022, more than 369,000 units of the hormonal IUD product have been distributed at a deeply discounted price to approximately 2,500 safety net clinics and hospitals in the US. Patients without insurance have saved nearly $200 each when prescribed this product instead of another hormonal IUD, helping to create more equitable access for historically underserved communities across the country and enabling increased autonomy over their health, their lives, and their futures. This success proves how powerful the nonprofit pharmaceutical model can be. Our research sought to tell this story and to show how this model can be replicated in other areas of the market to drive down drug costs and improve access, improving health care access for people with low incomes, communities of color, and other groups have who are all too often systemically discriminated against.  

IMPACT

• Helped the client tell the story of nonprofit pharma, highlighting the major policy barriers encountered in the drug development and approval process and identifying how those barriers are unique to nonprofits 
• Produced the report as a tool for future nonprofit pharma organizations, highlighting how this process is replicable and scalable 
• Identified and leveraged opportunities to maximize the narrative impact and reach 
• Helped the client identify key policy changes that would allow nonprofit pharma organizations to better fulfill their missions of increasing access and lowering drug prices 

We invite you to read this case study, produced in partnership with Medicines360 and Arnold Ventures, about this innovative new model for medicine.