Maryland’s Drug Price Law Hits Federal Court Wall

Maryland’s effort to rein in generic drug price increases couldn’t get past a federal appeals court, which struck down the state’s price-gouging law.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled April 13 for a generic drug industry group, which challenged the constitutionality of the Maryland law (HB 631). The law gave the state attorney general’s office authority to take legal action against corporations that hike prices, making Maryland the first state in the nation to empower its attorney general to fight pharmaceutical price gouging.

The Maryland law defined price gouging as “an unconscionable increase in the price ...