Negotiation or Coercion? Big Pharma and US Chamber of Commerce Tackle Government on Drug Prices

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging a recent law that grants Medicare the authority to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.

In the complaint, the chamber argued that the pricing program violated the due process rights of drugmakers as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and claimed it bestowed the government with unrestricted discretion to dictate maximum prices, Reuters reported.

Additionally, the chamber contended that the program would impose excessive penalties on drugmakers who refuse to accept these prices.

Last week, Merck & Co Inc MRK filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government to halt implementing the Medicare drug price negotiation program outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

Also, Pfizer Inc's PFE CEO Albert Bourla called U.S. plans to negotiate drug prices for its Medicare health program "negotiation with a gun to your head." 

Bristol Myers Squibb & Co's BMY Eliquis, Pfizer Ibrance, and AbbVie Inc's ABBV Imbruvica are expected to be among the ten top-selling drugs subject to U.S. price negotiations for 2026.

On Friday, the Biden administration announced it would impose inflation penalties on 43 drugs for Q3 of 2023, having fined 27 earlier this year. It said it would lower costs for older Americans by as much as $449 per dose.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intends to send the first invoices in 2025 to manufacturers for the rebates owed to Medicare in 2023 and 2024.

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