Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. District of Columbia
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
406 F. Supp.2d 56 (2005)
The District of Columbia's Prescription Drug Excessive Pricing Act (PDEPA) barred manufacturers from selling patented drugs at an "excessive" price, defined by a rebuttable presumption if the wholesale price exceeded 30 percent of comparable prices in four other developed countries, with civil penalties for violations. Pharmaceutical trade associations (plaintiffs) sued the District (defendant), arguing the law was preempted by federal patent laws, including the Patent Term Restoration Act (PTRA), which was designed to let manufacturers set prices to encourage free-market competition and fund continued research and development.
Whether federal patent laws and exclusivity protections preempt state (or district) laws setting drug manufacturer price controls.