A Handy Clip-n-Save Chart on IRA Litigation

With PhRMA’s filing yesterday, we’re up to four lawsuits now that seek to toss the price-control provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, which means that keeping track of all of the moving parts is going to get real tricky, real fast. (I’m already seeing reporters getting confused about what’s new and what’s not.)

So in the interest of getting my head around the legal action, I’ve pulled together the chart below to track who has filed, where they’ve filed, and the arguments they’re advancing. (A PDF version of the chart below, including hyperlinks for everything from the legal paperwork to judge profiles to legal definitions, is available here.)

As a reminder, I’m a dilettante when it comes to legal issues. Yell at me if you see any errors.

• If you had told me, five years ago, that reporters would be looking for any excuse to write articles about PBMs, I’m not sure I would have believed you. But yesterday, Chuck Grassley carping about the failure of Republicans to align on a PBM approach made news. So did a House hearing featuring PCMA’s JC Scott. Neither piece really advanced the narrative, but we’re living at a time where there is clearly a demand for PBM content. Which is weird.

• I talked yesterday about the PhRMA lawsuit (and then, um, did the whole chart thing above), so that’s not news. But I found Axios’ coverage to be particularly interesting, because they start getting into the details of why the suits are being filed where they are.

• Sarepta is due to hear from the FDA today on their DMD gene therapy. Prepare for the faux outrage over the sticker price.

• Good to see former NPC and AAM head Dan Leonard blogging. He dropped his first piece yesterday, looking at the Vital Transformation research on how devastating efforts to expand the IRA could be.

• The FTC is at it again. This time, they’re intervening in an appeals court proceeding involving a “pay for delay” allegation against AbbVie, claiming an antitrust violation.

• More Humira biosimilars are coming, and Healio has a bit about a survey that found that docs aren’t necessarily clamoring for new options.

• The saber-rattling over new pharma regulations in the EU is continuing. Nothing novel seems to have come out a European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations presser yesterday, but industry isn’t letting the issue fade.