Bristol Myers Squibb on Friday sued the Biden administration over Health InsuranceNew powers to reduce drug prices, such Tuesday lawsuit will be filed against the program in the next few days.
The lawsuit filed in federal district court in New Jersey argues that Medicare negotiate violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution.
Bristol Myers Squibb has asked the court to declare the scheme unconstitutional and prevent the Department of Health and Human Services from forcing the company into negotiations.
Bristol Myers Squibb’s arguments mirror those made last week by Merck, the first company to sue the federal government over drug negotiations. The American Chamber of Commerce also sued HHS over the program with a similar argument.
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in 2022 in a narrow partisan vote, empowered Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in the program’s six-decade history. The act is a central pillar of the Biden administration’s effort to control soaring drug prices and is a major victory for Democrats.
Bristol Myers Squibb said its blood-thinning drug Eliquis, used to treat blood clots and strokes, will be the subject of negotiations this year. The company generated $11.8 billion in revenue from Eliquis last year, about 25% of the company’s $46 billion total revenue for 2022.
The drug’s maker also said Opdivo, which is used to treat certain types of cancer, will be the subject of future Medicare negotiations. Opdivo generated $8.2 billion in revenue for the company in 2022, about 18 percent of the drugmaker’s total revenue that year.
Bristol Myers Squibb argues that the federal government is forcing the company to negotiate and ultimately agree to a highly discounted price. The company claims this violates Fifth Amendment protections against government confiscation of private property without compensation.
The drugmaker also claims HHS is forcing the company to present the program publicly as a negotiation over a fair price. The company called the negotiations a sham and claimed that the federal government was forcing the drugmaker to “state its preferred political message” in violation of the First Amendment.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, in a statement following Merck’s lawsuit last week, vowed to vigorously defend the Inflation Reduction Act in court, saying, “The law is on our side.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, also in a statement following Merck’s lawsuit, said the Biden administration is confident it will win in court.
“There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices,” says Jean-Pierre.
