Astellas Drops Lawsuit Challenging Medicare Drug Price Law (1)

Cancer drug manufacturer Astellas Pharma Inc. on Wednesday voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit challenging the Medicare drug price negotiation program after its blockbuster drug Xtandi wasn’t included among the first products subject to the price talks.

Attorneys on behalf of the company filed the notice in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where Astellas had filed a lawsuit July 14 arguing the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for some of the drugs it spends the most on violated the First and Fifth Amendments.

Legal experts predicted the Astellas case would be dismissed after ...