ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the Food Marketing Institute filed their principal legal brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit yesterday, challenging the First DataBank and Medi-Span settlements that reduce average wholesale prices (AWPs).
NACDS and FMI were joined in the brief by pharmacies that will be harmed by the AWP reductions. The implementation of the AWP cuts would dramatically cut reimbursement for many pharmacies.
The appeal brief argues that it is inappropriate to harm pharmacies that were not defendants on the original lawsuit because they did nothing wrong. The Court of Appeals granted a motion to expedite the schedule for the appeal, which means the court may be able to issue a decision on the NACDS-FMI appeal before the cuts occur on Sept. 26.
“The District Court's approval of a judicial settlement that unconstitutionally punishes every pharmacy in the country was an egregious error,” said Deborah White, FMI senior vice president and chief legal officer. “We are pleased that the First Circuit Court granted our motion to consider this matter quickly and we encourage the First Circuit to overturn the District Court's order.”
Moving forward, First DataBank, Medi-Span and the class-action attorneys are scheduled to file opposing briefs on June 29. NACDS and FMI will then file a reply brief on July 13. The court is scheduled to hold a hearing with oral arguments during the week of July 27.
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