Key Supreme Court Decisions Impacting Pharmacies

The U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings this year carry real-world effects on the pharmacy industry, including the FDA’s approval of mifepristone and addressing the standard for how courts defer to agencies. We will review these key Supreme Court’s decisions and discuss what the outcomes mean to pharmacy lawyers.

The Supreme Court’s review of the FDA’s approval of mifepristone in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine will shed light on future legal challenges to FDA approvals and resolve one issue in the evolving landscape for pharmacies with respect to dispensing medication abortion drugs.

Moreover, the Supreme Court’s review of Chevron deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce will likely change how the pharmacy industry interacts with agencies, lawmakers and courts. Recent judicial trends, including in the United States Supreme Court, have moved away from longstanding deference doctrines like Chevron that have insulated agency expertise from judicial scrutiny. If judges, not agencies, will have the final say in what ambiguous statutes mean, that will carry potential implications and opportunities for pharmacy lawyers.

Legal and pharmaceutical professionals must understand the evolving dynamics of judicial deference, especially in pharmaceutical law, because they impact the finality of FDA drug approvals and other critical regulatory decisions. On the other hand, changes in the level of deference will presents pharmacies with opportunities to challenge burdensome regulations. Session participants will explore alternative paths and new opportunities related to agency decision-making if Chevron is overturned.