News Briefs: PhRMA, Drugmakers Sue Over Medicare Drug Price Negotiation
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) sued the Biden administration over Medicare drug price negotiation and inflation cap provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), arguing that the policies are unconstitutional. Two patient assistance groups, the National Infusion Center Association and the Global Colon Cancer Association, joined the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, per a PhRMA press release. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck & Co. Inc. filed their own lawsuits against the drug price provisions of the law in recent weeks, and Biogen Inc.’s CEO said that his firm may do the same. The Chamber of Commerce was a major financial backer of legal efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act during the 2010s, and it filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit that ultimately led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s move to strike down mandatory state Medicaid expansion.
