Merck & Co. Inc. filed a complaint against the Biden administration on Tuesday over the Drug Price Negotiation Program, which is designed to ensure the negotiation of "voluntary price agreements that will save money for American taxpayers," while also guaranteeing that manufacturers will be able to "continue investing billions of dollars" in medicine development.
In the complaint, Merck called the program a "sham," as there are no "genuine 'negotiations' nor real 'agreements.'" "Once HHS unilaterally selects a drug for inclusion ... its manufacturer is compelled to sign an 'agreement' promising to sell the drug to Medicare beneficiaries at whatever 'fair' price the agency dictates," Merck noted. It said that should the company fail to comply, "it incurs a ruinous daily excise tax amounting to multiples of the drug's daily revenues."
Merck stressed that the program will have a negative effect on "biopharmaceutical innovation and the sector’s work to develop lifesaving innovations," adding that in turn, this will reflect badly on those who need the medicine.
