News: Big pharma sues government over drug price negotiation measures

Last week, the United States Chamber of Commerce sued the federal government, arguing that the Drug Price Negotiation component of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is “unconstitutional,” as it “violates fundamental protections for free enterprise enshrined in our Constitution,” HealthLeaders reported.

“If the government can set price controls for essential medicines through a black-box regime without allowing for judicial review, the government can do the same for other essential industries, which would be disastrous for our economy and for individual rights,” the Chamber explained.

The June 9 Chamber of Commerce suit comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the Merck & Co. pharmaceutical company on June 6. The company’s lawsuit is nearly identical to the one filed by the Chamber: according to Merck, the IRA will inevitably violate the principle of free enterprise and the United States government, by requiring price negotiations, has opened the door to the acquisition of private property without just compensation.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, replying to the lawsuits, stated: “Big Pharma regularly forces Americans to pay many times what they do customers in other countries for the exact same medicines. We are confident we will succeed in the courts. There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices."

According to HealthLeaders, the Drug Negotiation Program grants Medicare the ability to negotiate with drug makers for a select number of high-price drugs. The negotiations begin in September but will be limited to 10 drugs of Medicare’s choosing. Merck & Co. has claimed that the negotiation program would curtail the “bio-pharmaceutical sector’s inability to address health threats”; however, patient advocacy groups have countered this claim.

"Merck's ridiculous lawsuit is the equivalent of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum," says Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. "Americans pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and too many seniors must choose between putting food on the table and paying for their medicine. That is because corporations like Merck have been allowed to charge taxpayers whatever they want for their drugs."

Editor’s note: Read the Healthleaders story here. To read the Chamber’s suit, click here.