By Ed SilvermanJuly 2, 2026
Pharmalot Columnist, Senior Writer
Ed’s stories explore prescription drug pricing, affordability and access, as well issues surrounding patents, litigation, and legislation. He is also the author of the morning Pharmalittle newsletter and the afternoon Pharmalot newsletter.In a victory for the pharmaceutical industry, a federal judge blocked a Colorado state panel from placing a cap on the price of a blockbuster drug sold by Amgen after deciding the company is “likely to be significantly harmed.”
The ruling pauses a controversial, first-in-the-nation move by the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which was created four years ago in response to the rising cost of prescription medicines and is permitted to set upper payment limits on what most state residents will pay for selected drugs.
Several other states have similarly established affordability boards, although they all have somewhat different rules and criteria guiding their actions. Colorado, however, has been moving more quickly than other states in choosing medicines that are deemed to be unaffordable and proceeding with decisions to create upper payment limits.
