Six national associations representing hospitals and pharmacists, and three individual hospitals participating in the 340B drug discount program, filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California asking the court to order the Health and Resource Service Administration (HRSA) to enforce the 340B statute and require drug manufacturers to provide 340B discounts for drugs dispensed through contract pharmacies. In May 2011, Eli Lilly was the first manufacturer to take steps to unilaterally suspend discounts for drugs dispensed through contract pharmacies, first for a single drug and later for all of its drugs. Five additional manufacturers followed suit over the course of the summer and fall. As of the filing of the lawsuit, HRSA has taken no formal steps to require the manufacturers to reinstate contract pharmacy discounts, a longstanding component of the 340B program.
