By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun
A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit filed by the pharmaceutical company Amgen challenging the authority of a Colorado board that seeks to rein in high-priced prescription drugs.
U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang ruled Friday that Amgen had not shown it has or likely will suffer harm from the board’s actions. As a result, she granted the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but she did so “without prejudice” — meaning Amgen could sue again if it can later show harm.
“The economic injuries alleged by Amgen are too speculative and too attenuated to support standing in this case,” Wang wrote in her order.
The case involved a relatively obscure body known as the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board, or PDAB, which has the authority to set price caps on drugs it deems unaffordable. Since its creation in 2021, the board has been working methodically toward studying, selecting and reviewing which drugs it should target for price caps — focusing especially on those with eye-popping price tags.