Colorado is one of a handful of states with a review board for drug prices and one of only four with a board empowered to set upper limits on what state agencies, insurers and other purchasers may pay or be reimbursed for certain high-cost drugs dispensed to patients in the state.

In fall 2025, the Colorado board capped Enbrel, an immunosuppressant drug made by Amgen used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and other autoimmune conditions, at US$600 per weekly dose. That’s about $31,200 per year, which is much less than the approximately $53,000 the average Colorado health plan paid for the drug in 2023.

The price cap was set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. But a lawsuit brought by Amgen could delay or block it altogether.

The cap set by the Colorado board is roughly in line with the maximum fair price the federal government negotiated for Enbrel under Medicare, which took effect in January 2026.

The list price of Enbrel, which has been on the market since 1998, has risen by more than 1,500% since its launch. Amgen generated $2.23 billion in sales in 2025 alone.

I study how patent law and drug regulation shape access to medicine. This case sits at the center of a fight that will determine whether states can do more than document high drug prices and make policy recommendations. Its outcome could decide whether states such as Colorado can meaningfully regulate drug prices, or whether federal patent law will stand in their way.

In Amgen Inc. v. Mizner, Chief Judge Daniel D. Domenico granted Amgen a preliminary injunction on July 1, 2026. The ruling barred the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board from enforcing the upper payment limit it set for Enbrel.

A prior lawsuit in the same court, filed in 2024 after the Colorado review board selected Enbrel for review, was dismissed in March 2025 by Judge Nina Y. Wang.

The court reasoned that Amgen, as a manufacturer at the top of the........

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