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AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, et al. v. Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 24-1819 · judgment May 8, 2025


Certiorari denied · May 18, 2026
Pre-decision estimate: 7% cert probability (95% interval 4%–11%)

Before the decision, about 1.7× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a Third Circuit decision below, and a business petitioner.

Question presented

In the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), Congress enacted the so-called “Drug Price Negotiation Program,” which requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to sell certain selected drugs at steeply discounted prices mandated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. A manufacturer whose drug is subject to this government-dictated price must—on pain of massive civil penalties—make that price available in private transactions with individuals, pharmacies, hospitals, and other non-governmental participants in Medicare. Notably, the agency’s key decisions interpreting and implementing the IRA are not subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking on the front end; nor are they judicially reviewable on the back end. There is accordingly no way for a manufacturer who objects to the selection of its drug, or to the price set for the drug by the agency, to ensure that its objections are taken into account. Petitioners manufacture one of the drugs that will be subject to government-set prices in 2026. The price set for that drug will affect billions of dollars’ worth of sales in private-party transactions. In the decision below, the court of appeals rejected petitioners’ due process challenge—without even considering whether the IRA’s complete lack of procedures falls below minimum constitutional standards—on the ground that the statute does not affect petitioners’ constitutionally protected interests. The question presented is: Whether the IRA implicates an interest of pharmaceutical manufacturers that is protected by the Due Process Clause. (i)

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Allon Kedem
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Linked docket
25A115

Proceedings

  1. May 18 2026
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Apr 22 2026
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/14/2026.
  3. Jan 22 2026
    Rescheduled.
  4. Jan 07 2026
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/23/2026.
  5. Jan 07 2026
    Reply of petitioners AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  6. Jan 02 2026
    Brief of respondents Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, et al. in opposition filed.
  7. Jan 02 2026
    Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioner.
  8. Dec 19 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including January 2, 2026.
  9. Dec 18 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 24, 2025 to January 2, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
  10. Nov 21 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including December 24, 2025.
  11. Nov 20 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 24, 2025 to December 24, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
  12. Sep 29 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 24, 2025.
  13. Sep 26 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 24, 2025 to November 24, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
  14. Sep 19 2025
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 24, 2025)
  15. Jul 28 2025
    Application (25A115) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until September 20, 2025.
  16. Jul 24 2025
    Application (25A115) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 6, 2025 to September 20, 2025, submitted to Justice Alito.