AstraZeneca Joins Legal Battle Against IRA

Claiming the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) drug provisions to be unconstitutional, AstraZeneca has become the latest drugmaker to pursue legal action against the US government. As reported by BioPharma Dive, the drugmaker’s lawsuit claims Medicare is unlawfully implementing provisions of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, which provides the agency with authority to negotiate prices of certain top-selling drugs.

Currently, drugmakers that refuse to cooperate with Medicare on a lower price are subject to a heavy tax that’s only avoidable if products are removed from the insurance program.

“The IRA forces manufacturers to engage in purported ‘negotiations’ but affords them no bargaining power, no meaningful opportunity to walk away, and no ability to protect their interests against a so-called ‘maximum fair price’ capped at an amount drastically below actual fair market value,” alleged the British drug manufacturer in its lawsuit.

Reference: AstraZeneca the latest pharma to challenge drug pricing law. BioPharma Dive. August 25, 2023. Accessed August 29, 2023. https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/astrazeneca-ira-lawsuit-drug-pricing/691869/