Washington, D.C.: Statement from Margarida Jorge, head of Lower Drug Prices Now – the leading campaign fighting to lower prescription drug prices – in response to a federal judge dismissing AstraZeneca’s lawsuit to overturn Medicare negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act:

“U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly’s decision today to dismiss AstraZeneca’s frivolous lawsuit is another big will for the Biden Administration and the millions of Medicare enrollees who will get lower drug costs under the new Medicare reforms passed in 2022. This is the third favorable ruling against legal challenges to Medicare negotiations and we remain confident that we’ll see a similar ruling in the upcoming hearing on March 7th in the New Jersey hearing during which Bristol Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk, Novartis and Johnson & Johnson will present their oral arguments against Medicare negotiations.

Negotiated prices on Medicare drugs are now the law of the land and expected to lower prices on 10 of the most expensive and widely used medicines in Medicare, saving patients and the government  over $100 billion over the next decade. Drug corporations pulled out all the stops to try and stop passage of the law.  Now they are relentlessly trying to delay implementation and overturn the new statute to protect their sky high profits rather than just negotiating in good faith for fair prices patients can afford. 

Seniors, people with disabilities and taxpayers have already waited too long for affordable medicines in Medicare, the nation’s largest purchaser of prescriptions. Big drug corporations have enjoyed decades of monopoly control over prices, raising prices faster than inflation and putting even basic medicines out of reach while their profits grew more than other companies in the S&P 500. The new law will stop corporate price gouging that has enriched Pharma CEOs and their coffers and the expense of our health and finally hold the drug corporations accountable.”