Boehringer Ingelheim Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Government Over Medicare’s Drug Price Negotiation Power

Boehringer Ingelheim has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, arguing that Medicare’s new power to negotiate drug prices is unconstitutional and forces pharmaceutical companies to adhere to unfairly imposed terms. The company joins Merck & Co, Bristol Myers Squibb, Astellas Pharma, and Johnson & Johnson in seeking to block the drug price program. They claim the program, implemented under last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, does not involve genuine negotiations but coerces drugmakers to provide access to their drugs at below-market rates. The program targets top-selling, single-source drugs for price negotiation and threatens steep fines for non-compliance. Boehringer believes the program infringes on rights protected by the First and Fifth Amendments, a position echoed by its peers. The case comes ahead of a September 1 deadline for Medicare to announce the first ten drugs they will negotiate prices on.

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