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 The Association for Accessible Medicines filed the lawsuit in
federal court in Baltimore to seek an injunction that would block
state officials, including Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh,
from enforcing the law.
"If this new law goes into effect, it will harm patients and our
communities by reducing choice and limiting access to essential
medicines that people need," Chip Davis, the group's chief
executive, said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Frosh's office said it had just received the
lawsuit and will review it.
The measure was passed by Maryland's Democrat-controlled legislature
in April amid concerns about rising U.S. drug costs. Governor Larry
Hogan, a Republican, said in May that he would allow it to take
effect without his signature.
The bill allows Maryland's state authority on Medicaid, a federal
healthcare program for the poor, to let the attorney general's
office know when it sees patients being charged an "unconscionable
increase" for essential generic drugs.
The attorney general could then seek an explanation from the
manufacturer and sue to protect consumers, with a fine of up to
$10,000 for each violation. A judge could order the company to
reverse its price increase.
The Association for Accessible Medicines, which represents companies
such as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Mylan NV, was
formerly known as the Generic Pharmaceutical Association.
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In its lawsuit, the association argued that the law, if allowed to
take effect as scheduled in October, would grant Maryland
unprecedented powers to regulate the national drug market in
violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The group said the law would unleash a potentially unlimited number
of lawsuits seeking to punish generic drugmakers for prices charged
for drugs made available in the state.
It also said the law was unconstitutional because of what it said
was a vague prohibition on "price gouging" that provides drugmakers
no meaningful description of what it covers.
The group estimated that generic drugs saved Maryland $4.1 billion
in 2016.
The case is Association for Accessible Medicines v. Frosh, et al,
U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, No. 17-cv-1860.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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