Consumer advocates celebrate U.S. District Court decision to dismiss lawsuit against Prescription Drug Affordability Board

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: March 31, 2025
CONTACT: Isabel Cruz,icruz@cohealthinitiative.org, 718-483-2305
Katie Reinisch, katie@progressive-promotions.com, 303-653-1009

Consumer advocates celebrate U.S. District Court decision to dismiss lawsuit against Prescription Drug Affordability Board

DENVER – Today, the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative celebrates a U.S. Court judge’s ruling in favor of consumers over Big Pharma. In February 2024, Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board declared the medication Enbrel “unaffordable” and moved to establish an upper payment limit for the drug. Shortly after, pharmaceutical giant Amgen filed a lawsuit against the Board in an attempt to halt its efforts. On Friday,  a federal judge in Colorado dismissed the case, eliminating a hurdle for the PDAB as they prepare to start their first upper payment limit process for the drug.

Etanercept (Enbrel) is a prescription medicine used to treat seven long-term autoimmune inflammatory diseases, including Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Around 1.3 million people in the United States have RA; it is not a rare disease or condition. For over a decade, Enbrel ranked among the top 20 drugs for worldwide sales and its wholesale cost has increased 36 times since it was approved by the FDA in 1998. In 2022, it ranked 31, with $4.1 billion in sales. According to the Board’s report from 2024, Enbrel costs $46,772 per patient per year. The out-of-pocket cost of Enbrel for patients with commercial insurance averaged $3,980, although some individuals’ out-of-pocket costs reached as high as $9,990 for a year’s supply. Data from the report indicated that the wholesale price increased 36 times since the drug was approved in 1998, a total increase of 1,582.24%.

“We applaud the court’s decision to dismiss Amgen’s lawsuit against Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board,” said Isabel Cruz, Policy Director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. “Pharmaceutical companies like Amgen have placed profits over patients for far too long. We look forward to the board’s continued efforts to meaningfully address the harms that the high cost of drugs like Enbrel have on patients. Drugs don’t work if people can’t afford them.”

Colorado Consumer Health Initiative is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, membership-based group advocating for equitable access to high-quality, affordable health care. CCHI serves Coloradans whose access to health care and financial security are compromised by structural barriers, affordability, poor benefits, or unfair business practices of the health care industry.