Bob Roehr Washington DC, USA

Several American healthcare systems have joined forces to form a new non-profit pharmaceutical company to counter price gouging and scarcity of generic drugs by increasing their supply.

Civica Rx was launched on 6 September with the healthcare systems and three foundations providing initial capital of $100m (£77m; €86m).

The company will focus on about 20 drugs primarily used in hospitals—which it declined to name “for competitive reasons”—and hopes to ship its first pills in early 2019.

The byelaws require unanimous consent to change certain provisions of the company charter, such as the requirement that it remain a not-for-profit organisation, and that …