Prescription drug prices in the U.S. are expensive. One vial of insulin can cost as much as $450, while the same amount goes for about $30 in Canada. Now, California could make its own generic insulin - and other prescription drugs - through a new law passed this week that aims to increase access to affordable medications. California governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation this week that allows the California Health and Human Services Agency to partner with drug manufacturers in order to make or distribute generic prescription drugs. The bill builds on a plan Newsom first announced in January to increase generic drug manufacturing, which would lower prescription drug costs through a state-sponsored prescription drug label called Cal Rx. Cal Rx wouldn't be developing new drugs ... just attempting to make cheaper versions of generic drugs, or drugs that aren't currently covered by a patent. The bill does not specify what prescription drugs the state's health agency would create or distribute through such partnerships - officials are in the process of identifying potential medications - but it does require a partnership for "at least one form of insulin, provided that a viable pathway for manufacturing a more affordable form of insulin exists at a price that results in savings." Current U.S. laws allow pharmaceutical manufacturers to set their own prices, which isn't common practice in other countries. In England ... a government agency negotiates directly with pharmaceutical companies.