Sacramento Superior Court To Hear Bee’s Arguments in Roche Contract Suit
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster has granted the Sacramento Bee permission to argue that Switzerland-based drug maker Roche should publicly disclose a new contract to supply hepatitis C medication to the state, the Bee reports (Sacramento Bee, 6/16).
In May, Sen. Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) and the Bee requested release of the contract under the state Public Records Act. State officials said Roche's contract will save the state $1 million on the medication but declined to disclose specific terms of the deal. The contract -- which was signed Feb. 28 and took effect April 1 -- was entered through the Department of General Services' strategic outsourcing program to provide medication for institutionalized populations cared for by the departments of Mental Health, Developmental Services and Corrections (California Healthline, 6/9).
McMaster also granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Department of General Services from disclosing terms of the contract to supply pegylated interferon until a June 29 hearing (Sacramento Bee, 6/16).