CONTACT: Joe Zepecki
jz@jzcomms.com
Washington, D.C. – Today, the pharmaceutical company Merck sued the federal government challenging the constitutionality of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Prescription Drug Negotiation Program, which allows Medicare to negotiate lower prices for certain drugs. Merck manufactures Januvia, a type 2 diabetes drug that is likely to be eligible for negotiation, and has been on the market without competition for nearly 20 years. In 2021 alone, Medicare spent over $4 billion on the drug. The authority to negotiate lower prices against Big Pharma, making prescription drugs more affordable, is a historic win for American patients who pay up to four times more for the same drugs as patients in other wealthy countries.
In response, Protect Our Care’s Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued a statement:
“While Americans are cutting pills and skipping doses, Merck is suing the federal government to protect their ability to overcharge seniors and taxpayers to pad their sky-high profits. President Biden and Democrats in Congress delivered a historic win when they fought Big Pharma and enacted legislation to finally allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. Pharma lost that lobbying battle, and now they’re going to court to protect their outrageous profits at the expense of seniors. Big Pharma’s greed knows no bounds.”
