On July 8, 2019, in Merck & Co., Inc. v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, the US District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated a final rule pursuant to which pharmaceutical manufacturers would have to disclose the list price of certain drugs on direct-to-consumer ads.

The Court found that the rule violated the Administrative Procedures Act because the Department of Health and Human Services did not have the statutory authority to promulgate the rule. The ruling was just in time, as the final rule was to be effective July 9, 2019.

Arent Fox previously analyzed the final rule – and the anticipated battle over it – in October 2018.