ANALYSIS: AstraZeneca Ruling Leaves Drugmakers With Fewer Claims

Drugmakers will likely have fewer constitutional arguments in their pockets as they continue to fight against the Biden administration’s landmark price-setting program.

Federal courts have now dealt two big setbacks to challengers of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug price negotiation provisions. A federal judge in Delaware rejected AstraZeneca’s claims on March 1, a few weeks after a federal judge in Texas dismissed a lawsuit by industry trade groups. Seven lawsuits remain in district court.

The judge in Delaware rejected AstraZeneca’s due process claim because it said the drugmaker failed to identify a protected property interest or to show that it ...