Sacramento, Calif. (ABC) — The new California Department of Pharmaceutical Excellence is scheduled to start producing its own prescription drugs in April 2020, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The governor, who launched the new CalDOPE agency on his week-long Homeless Tour that started today, said “we’re taking power out of the hands of greedy pharmaceutical companies and putting it in the hands of selfless public servants who can’t be sued.”
The name “CalDOPE” beat the second-place name “Cartel California” during an intense focus group after Democratic Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula asked, “If Costco can have a Kirkland brand, why can’t California have our own generic brand?”
Helen Waite, a Covered California drug policy analyst widely considered to be the top choice to head CalDOPE, said, “The agency will have a monopoly on drug pricing in California, with companies bidding to sell their medicine at a uniform price.”
Larry Levitttown, executive vice president of health policy for the Weimar Family Foundation, said Helen Waite is right.
“If you want solid drug advice, go to Helen Waite,” Levittown said. “Other countries control the price of drugs, and California is the size of a country. Drug companies could walk away from Venezuela, but there will be no escaping California.”
