WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patients For Affordable Drugs filed a 29-page amicus brief today in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Second Circuit, defending the Medicare negotiation program in a case filed by Boehringer Ingelheim aimed at stopping the critical provision in the 2022 prescription drug law. This case is part of a broader, coordinated campaign by the drug industry and its allies to halt the widely supported program and restore the industry’s complete monopoly pricing power over costly, essential medicines patients rely on.
The amicus brief highlights the monumental relief the Medicare negotiation program will provide to millions of patients who have long suffered from industry price gouging on widely used prescription drugs. It recounts for the court how drug industry lobbying led to a two-decades-long prohibition on Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug prices, which resulted in Americans paying the highest drug prices in the world by far. The brief also refutes Big Pharma’s claims that the program will limit patient access and stifle innovation and debunks assertions that it will force drug companies to cut back on drug research and development.
You can find the full written amicus brief HERE.
“For more than 20 years, big drug companies dictated prices to Medicare and raked in massive profits at the expense of patient’s health and financial well-being,” said Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs. “Our patient-centered amicus brief dismantles the pharmaceutical industry’s arguments – which have already been rejected by multiple courts – and shows how Medicare’s new negotiation authority will finally deliver a better deal for patients and taxpayers.
“Make no mistake: the drug corporations suing to block lower negotiated drug prices are acting against patients’ best interest. They’re using vast resources – earned through years of total pricing power – to protect their profits. It’s US v. Pharma, and P4AD stands firmly with the millions of people counting on this historic relief to uphold the hard-fought victory of lower drug prices.”
“This fight is personal for so many Americans whose lives are overshadowed by drug bills,” said Temi Amoye, Advocacy and Organizing Director at Patients For Affordable Drugs and daughter of Oluyomi Amoye who is a patient featured in the amicus brief. “My dad worked hard his entire life, yet now he’s paying nearly $500 every two months for Jardiance – money he can’t afford to spend on a fixed income. He shouldn’t have to worry about relying on me or my siblings just to afford the medications he needs. That’s why I’m in this fight: to ensure families like ours aren’t priced out of life-saving treatments.”
Boehringer Ingelheim reported $8 billion in revenue in 2023 from sales of Jardiance alone, an increase of 300% compared to 2018. Over 1.3 million people on Medicare used Jardiance in 2022.
The brief underscores how Medicare price negotiation will deliver transformative savings to other patients including;
- Oluyomi Amoye, a 66-year-old retiree from Maryland whose 60-day supply of Jardiance cost him $484 out-of-pocket and created a significant financial challenge given he is living on a fixed income. Oluyomi worries about becoming a burden on his children by needing their help to pay for his medications. Beginning in 2026, the price of Jardiance will be reduced by 66 percent.
- Aly Elbaga, an 84-year-old retiree from New Jersey whose prescription drug costs, including for Eliquis, account for nearly half his monthly income. Instead of enjoying his well-earned retirement, Aly cannot afford vacations or other leisure activities, and he struggles even to purchase new clothing, shoes, or other necessities. Beginning in 2026, the price of Eliquis will be reduced by 56 percent.
- Trevor Watts, a 62-year-old retiree was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and prescribed Farxiga, which cost him as much as $161 for a 30-day prescription. Due to this price tag, Trevor has had to delay trips to visit family, visits to the dentist, and repairs on a three-year-old leak in his roof. Beginning in 2026, the list price of Farxiga will be reduced by 68 percent.
The amicus brief also highlights the wide-scale economic impact of Medicare negotiations:
- $100 billion: Savings specifically from Medicare negotiation through 2031.
- $6 billion: Estimated Medicare savings if lower negotiated prices had been in effect in 2023.
- $1.5 billion annually: Estimated out-of-pocket savings for people on Medicare Part D starting in 2026.
- 656,967 fewer deaths: Projected over seven years due to improved treatment adherence, with nearly 94,000 lives saved annually from reduced out-of-pocket costs from Medicare negotiation.
- $237 billion: Projected total savings to the government from the Inflation Reduction Act through 2031.
BACKGROUND
- The average annual prescription cost for people on Medicare Part D taking Jardiance is $4,487.
- Despite the $372 million lobbying campaign by the pharmaceutical industry and its allies to stop the Inflation Reduction Act, the reforms are already reining in prescription drug costs for millions of patients.
- To date, federal judges have rejected eight lawsuits filed by the pharmaceutical industry and its allies to block implementation of Medicare negotiation.
- P4AD previously filed an amicus brief on September 12 in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in cases brought by pharmaceutical giants Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Janssen, and AstraZeneca and an amicus brief on December 19 in the case brought by Novo Nordisk.
- P4AD has also signed onto seven amicus briefs led by Public Citizen and with allies Protect Our Care, Doctors for America, and Families USA.
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