Endo International plc (OTC: ENDPQ) and Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) announced today that Endo's Par Sterile Products business will supply Pitocin^® (oxytocin injection, USP) vials through Premier's ProvideGx^® and PremierProRx^® programs.

Pitocin^® is used to induce labor in pregnant women. The product is on the World Health Organization's essential medications list and has a history of supply disruptions, which can result in potential health risks to mothers and babies, as well as costly delays in hospital labor and delivery wards. The partnership involves a multifaceted approach seeking to provide stable product supply through adequate safety stock on a long-term basis.

"We're pleased to offer Pitocin^® injection through the robust and highly reliable ProvideGx^® and PremierProRx^® supply channels," said Scott Sims, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Injectable Solutions & Generics at Endo. "As a long-standing collaborator with Premier, we're proud to join the organization in helping to address drug shortages and serving as a reliable supplier of this labor and delivery product."

"This initiative with Endo is yet another step forward to help eliminate drug shortages for our healthcare provider members, create increased market competition and promote more predictable, long-term prices," said Michael J. Alkire, President and CEO of Premier. "Both ProvideGx^® and the PremierProRx^® private label program are building a more diversified pharmaceutical market designed to create sustainable supply of a drug vital for maternal care and health in the U.S."

Guided by health systems with more than 1,600 hospitals across the nation, Premier's ProvideGx^® and PremierProRx^®programs create long-term committed buying contracts with participating manufacturers—creating a steady demand signal and guaranteed buyer base in exchange for increasing production of generics in shortage, maintaining safety stocks or diversifying supply sources. These programs offer members access to more than 150 drugs that are or have been recently designated as shortage drugs, and have successfully helped resolve 14 drug shortages, resulting in their official delisting from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's shortage list. 

With a stable supply of Pitocin^®, Premier can continue efforts aimed at addressing factors that impact maternal and infant health outcomes, including the PINC AI^™ Perinatal Improvement Collaborative that brings together more than 220 health systems in all 50 states using performance improvement tools and standardized data to measure outcomes and help identify the drivers of maternal mortality and morbidity.