Top pharma lobby sues U.S. govt. over Medicare drug pricing negotiations
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The leading drug industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Wednesday, challenging the drug pricing negotiations introduced by the recently-enacted Inflation Reduction Act.
The National Infusion Center Association and Global Colon Cancer Association have joined PhRMA in the litigation filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Austin, Texas.
Naming Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and Chiquita Brooks-Lasure, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as defendants, the group challenges the constitutionality of IRA's price-setting provisions.
The policies to impose government-set prices âare expected to have a negative impact on access to medicines covered by Medicare Part B and Part D, in addition to discouraging continued drug development,â PhRMA said in a statement.
Founded in 1958, PhRMA counts companies such as Pfizer (PFE), Lilly (LLY), Amgen (AMGN), Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY), GSK (GSK), J&J (JNJ) and Biogen (BIIB) as its members.
Previously, Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Bristol Myers (BMY) also filed similar lawsuits against IRA provisions which, among other things, allowed the U.S. to negotiate prices for Medicare Part B and D drugs for the first time in history.
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