AstraZeneca asks Supreme Court to Review Case in Last-Ditch Effort to Stop Medicare Negotiation Before Program Delivers Cost Relief

WASHINGTON, D.C. — AstraZeneca has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court in a desperate attempt to overturn its 2024 loss in federal court and stop Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices for U.S. patients. The move marks an escalation of pharma’s nationwide legal campaign to preserve the industry’s monopoly pricing power, and would strip President Trump’s ability to negotiate a better for patients via the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid.

AstraZeneca’s blockbuster diabetes drug, Farxiga, was included in the first round of Medicare price negotiation, with lower negotiated prices set to take effect in 2026 for 9 million patients on Medicare — including nearly 1 million who take the drug. Facing this looming deadline, the company is arguing that Supreme Court review is “warranted now.”

In response, Merith Basey, Executive Director of Patients For Affordable Drugs, issued the following statement:

“Pharma continues to recycle the same failed legal arguments against Medicare negotiation in its pursuit of maintaining complete monopoly power. Starting January 1, millions of patients on Medicare will begin to see lower prices on lifesaving medications, including AstraZeneca’s blockbuster drug Farxiga. After 14 courtroom defeats to date, this latest appeal is just another attempt by the industry to restrict the government’s power to secure a better deal for patients and delay the inevitable.”

Background:

Farxiga generated over $7.7 billion in revenue in 2024, and AstraZeneca has increased its list price by over 92 percent since it entered the market in 2014.
In 2024, Farxiga was priced at $11.05 per dose in the U.S., a staggering 275% markup compared to just $2.94 in Canada. Today, Farxiga costs $599 per month.
Across the first 10 drugs selected for Medicare negotiation, U.S. list prices are on average three times higher than in other high-income nations — until lower negotiated prices take effect in 2026.

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Patients For Affordable Drugs is the only national patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies that lower prescription drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients by amplifying their experiences with high drug prices to hold those in power to account and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4AD does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of drugs. To learn more, visit PatientsForAffordableDrugs.org.