Merck files lawsuit against US government to block Medicare drug price talks.

Merck has filed a lawsuit against the US government seeking an injunction of the drug price negotiation program contained in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which it argues violates the Fifth and First Amendments to the US Constitution. The law would force drugmakers to negotiate prices for drugs in the government's Medicare health insurance program at below market rates. Merck asserts this violates the part of the Fifth Amendment that requires the government to pay just compensation for private property taken for public use. The pharmaceutical industry says the law will result in a loss of profits that will force them to pull back on developing groundbreaking new treatments.