The Bloomberg Industry Group has filed a legal action against a state agency challenging the transparency of an agreement to allow a nonprofit drug manufacturer to produce insulin at lower costs in a state where some 3.2 million Californians suffer from diabetes.
The Bloomberg Industry Group Inc.’s Los Angeles Superior Court petition asks a judge to direct the state Department of Healthcare Access and Information to release records regarding minutes and agendas of meetings between the agency and nonprofit generic drug company Civica Inc.
In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law allowing California to manufacture its own insulin with the hope of lowering costs.
However, Civica is well behind schedule and has not yet begun clinical trials or sought federal Food and Drug Administration approval, either of which are likely to take more than a year to finish, the suit states.
“The governor indicated that Civica’s insulin would hit the shelves in 2024, but development of the product has stalled and there appears to be no end insight,” according to the petition. “Meanwhile, many Californians still lack access to affordable diabetes treatment.”
An HCAI representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the petition brought Jan. 28.
The Bloomberg Industry Group works with clients to manage and navigate their legal, tax and government affairs through complex environments, including information about the state’s health care and pharmaceutical industries. According to the organization’s petition, HCAI refused to produce the documents requested, maintaining in some cases that they could not be found even though its contract with Civica requires it to create them, and other times saying the information was exempt from the California Public Records Act.
“(HCAI’s) reasons for doing so include that disclosure would increase public scrutiny of the HCAI-Civica partnership,” the petition alleges.