In a victory for the pharmaceutical industry, a federal appeals court ruled drug companies have the right to limit discounts to hospitals that rely on numerous contract pharmacies as they participate in a U.S. government drug discount program.
The decision was made in response to lawsuits that were originally filed by three large drugmakers — Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, and AstraZeneca — that the federal government was unlawfully interpreting key provisions in the controversial 340B drug discount program. The matter is actually not resolved, though, because the same dispute is still being considered in two other appeals courts.
The ruling comes amid a long-running battle over the program, which was designed three decades ago to help hospitals and clinics care for low-income and rural patients. To ensure the program achieves this goal, drug makers that want to take part in Medicare or Medicaid are required to offer their medicines at a discount to hospitals and clinics that participate in the program.
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