STAT+: Oregon suspends a portion of its drug transparency law found to be unconstitutional

In a victory for the pharmaceutical industry, Oregon officials have suspended a portion of a contentious state law designed to bring more transparency to prescription drug pricing.

For now, the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services will no longer require drug companies to compile annual reports on price increases, a key feature of a transparency law that was enacted in 2018. At the time, such laws were pursued by several states as a way to force the pharmaceutical industry to justify price hikes that were straining budgets.

However, a U.S. District Court judge sided with an industry trade group that had argued a portion of the law was unconstitutional. The Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America contended in a lawsuit that a requirement to disclose information — including marketing and R&D spending — about a drug that underwent a price hike was forcing companies to reveal trade secrets. The reporting requirements stem from a pair of laws that were enacted in 2018 and 2019.

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