HHS is seeking to penalize Boehringer Ingelheim for reducing 340B discounts, the department said in a March 29 letter to the drugmaker.
In the letter, HHS reminded Boehringer Ingelheim of a 2021 letter in which the department instructed the drugmaker to comply with its 340B statutory obligations and offer its covered outpatient drugs at or below the ceiling price to entities covered by the program and their contract pharmacies.
HHS said Boehringer Ingelheim's refusal to comply will result in the drugmaker paying monetary penalties. The department referred the issue to its Office of the Inspector General for further disciplinary action.
The drugmaker implemented its 340B policy in 2021 to ensure the 340B program "supports care for the most vulnerable of patients as it was intended to do — rather than benefit for-profit contract pharmacies," a Boehringer Ingelheim spokesperson said in a statment sent to Becker's March 30.
The statament also said HHS' letter "is entirely unwarranted and at odds with recent rulings in federal courts."
"The federal judge presiding over a lawsuit regarding our policy has already ruled in a similar case that contrary to HRSA's position," the statement said. "The 340B law does not require manufacturers to provide 340B discounted drugs to an unlimited number of contract pharmacies."
Boehringer Ingelheim is one of 16 drugmakers that have said they will limit or halt 340B discounts to safety net hospitals for drugs dispensed at community-based pharmacies since July 2020.
Note: This article was updated at 3:55 CST to include Boehringer Ingelheim's comment.