Drug industry 1, Trump administration 0  

It’s official: The Trump administration does not have the authority to force drug makers to disclose their sticker prices in TV ads, at least according to a ruling released late Monday from D.C. District Court Judge Amit Mehta, who blocked the proposal just hours before it was set to go into effect today. For more on that ruling, check out my story here. 

I’ll be watching to see how the administration pivots from this painful defeat. It’s been more than a year since the Trump administration first released its largely aspirational “drug pricing blueprint” in May 2018, and before Monday, this was the only real accomplishment Trump could point to. Now that point has been taken off the scoreboard and handed to the drug industry. 

You can also bet that’s bad news for Team Trump 2020 — especially since every Democratic presidential candidate is clamoring to talk about Trump’s lack of progress bringing down drug prices. 

Interestingly enough, Congress probably could fix Trump’s woes. A law that explicitly grants HHS the authority to require these disclosures would give the administration much stronger legal footing. Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is already working on a package of drug pricing proposals, already has a bill that would do just that. (Though we don’t have word yet on whether that bill is in the package, which is being carefully guarded by committee staff.)

Adding to the drama this week: HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Domestic Policy Council Director Joe Grogan will meet with members of the Senate Finance Committee today on Capitol Hill, STAT learned from two industry sources and a congressional aide. It’s probably a good bet this ruling will come up. 

More broadly, it’s notable that the two most prominent advisors on drug pricing policy — long reported to be at odds on the administration’s approach — are showing a united front just as the committee leaders are expected to roll out a bipartisan compromise bill on the issue.