US court rules for drugmakers in California county drug pricing suit

31 March 2011

The US Supreme Court has ruled that California county Santa Clara cannot sue a group of leading drugmakers, including US majors Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), as well as US subsidiaries of UK-based AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline, France’s Sanofi-Aventis (Euronext: SAN), Germany’s Bayer (BAY: DE) and Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceuticals (TSE: 4502), for not extending pricing agreements made with the federal government to other hospital operators that receive federal funds.

In the Astra USA v County of Santa Clara, 09-1273, case, the high court voted eight to nil to overturn an appeals court decision and backed the federal government's exclusive right to enforce such pricing agreements.

"Important decision"

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