Columbus, OH – On Friday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Bristol Myers Squibb v. Becerra and Janssen Pharmaceuticals v. Becerra, calling on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to tell the Biden administration that its government-imposed price controls included in the Inflation Reduction Act violate the U.S. Constitution and will fail to curb inflation.

“We know that price controls are a disincentive to innovation, discourage competition, and reduce customer’s choices,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute. “So, not only do the Biden administration’s price controls violate the U.S. Constitution, they also fail Economics 101.”

In its brief, The Buckeye Institute relies on economic research that shows when the government imposes price controls, the tradeoff comes in the form of lost opportunities to create new drugs or improve on existing ones. This results in foregone cures and therapies, unnecessary human suffering, and even premature death. Furthermore, Buckeye argues that history shows us that price controls do not reduce inflation.

Carson continued, “While some of the criticism directed at the pharmaceutical industry may be deserved, it does not change the fact that using government-imposed price controls to lower drug costs will fail and result in other harmful effects. As Milton Freidman wrote, there is no such thing as a free lunch.”

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