Pharma Groups Denied Restraining Order in Nevada Drug Pricing Lawsuit

Judge James C. Mahan of the US District Court denied the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)’s motion for a temporary restraining order that would force Nevada to “cease and desist all action implementing or enforcing” contested sections of Nevada’s Senate Bill (SB) 539.

SB 539, signed into law by Republican Governor Brian Sandoval, requires drug makers to annually disclose list prices for insulins, profits made, and discounts provided to pharmacy benefit managers. It also requires drug makers to explain spikes in insulin pricing. Trade groups PhRMA and BIO called the drug “unprecedented” and “unconstitutional.”

In his decision, Mahan indicated that the court could rule a temporary restraining order only if the moving party showed that immediate and irreparable loss or damage would result before the opposing party’s motion for a preliminary injunction could be heard. He called such a restraining order an “extraordinary remedy” that would not be granted without the plaintiff’s demonstrating the possibility of irreparable. Mahan said that PhRMA and BIO had not shown that they would suffer such damage, in part because the first disclosures from industry concerning drug pricing will not be due until July of 2018.

Now that the motion for the restraining order has been denied, the state will have until September 27, 2017 to file its reply to PhRMA and BIO’s motion for preliminary injunction.