Major U.S. drug companies filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court to block a Trump administration rule mandating that drugmakers display prices in television advertising. The companies include Amgen, Merck, and Eli Lilly and Co., in addition to the Association of National Advertisers.
The Department of Health and Human Services rule was unveiled in May as part of a broader effort to lower prescription drug prices. Secretary Alex Azar said at the time that drug companies “ashamed” of posting drug prices should change their prices. “It’s that simple,” he said.
The drug companies argue in the suit, jointly filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, that the rule will require them to mislead consumers and fail to describe the price of the drugs accurately. The regulation specifically asks for producers to show wholesale costs, which, the drug companies argue, does not take into account “discounts, rebates, and other adjustments that substantially reduce the net payment for the prescription drug.” Many drug companies also set up websites listing their drug costs in anticipation of the regulation in order to argue that their sites are better than what can be offered in advertising.
The drugmakers argue that the regulation is illegal on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment. The suit maintains that the government failed to show that the mandated speech will “directly and materially advance a substantial government interest that could not be satisfied through other means.”
The regulation was finalized by the department on May 8, and this is the first major lawsuit against the regulation.
