Premier, Inc. announced that it has partnered with Pfizer Inc. to supply five essential medications to healthcare providers, helping to meet the immediate and long-term supply needs of medications necessary to a range of patient care interventions, including some that have been critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. The five medicines include: diazepam, labetalol, lorazepam, fentanyl citrate and 0.9% sodium chloride injection. Labetalol is a beta blocker that is used to treat high blood pressure. Lorazepam and diazepam are controlled substances used as anti-anxiety medications. Fentanyl is a controlled substance used to prevent pain for short periods of time, usually before anesthesia is administered or immediately after surgical procedures. The 0.9% sodium chloride injection is used to dilute other medications before injection. These five medications are critical for patient care and in some cases are necessary as part of COVID-19 treatments. As COVID-19 cases increase, demand for some of these medications has risen. For instance, fentanyl is often used to provide pain relief to patients receiving mechanical ventilation in their treatment for COVID-19, causing demand for this drug to spike 7.5X during peak periods. Guided by health systems with more than 1,600 hospitals across the nation, Premier’s ProvideGx program creates long-term committed buying contracts that provide participating manufacturers with the surety needed to increase production or move into new markets. Premier’s programs, including ProvideGx, currently provide members access to more than 150 drugs that are or have been recently designated as shortage drugs, with a pipeline of more than 50 additional drugs. The program has also ensured an adequate safety stock of medicines and has successfully protected supply even as demand surged more than 150% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pfizer has made significant investments in its injectables manufacturing network to support increased capacity and order fulfillment rates. The enhanced agreement with Premier helps facilitate increased access to these medicines for Premier member institutions and their patients.