The Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy decided Tuesday to not enforce a 2025 law that would remove drugmakers’ power to limit which pharmacies can purchase their drugs after a federal judge called the measure unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky in May granted Novartis Pharmaceuticals’ request to block the state from enforcing Act 630 of 2025 against the New Jersey-based company. Rudofsky is presiding over similar suits filed by Bristol Myers Squibb and Accredo Health Group. The plaintiffs didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Act 630 is the second 2025 law related to prescription drug access that was blocked in federal court after Act 624, which would have banned pharmacy benefit managers from holding drugstore permits. Accredo Health Group is among the plaintiffs that sued over Act 624.
Act 630 injunction
Both laws were found to violate the U.S. Constitution’s dormant commerce clause, which prohibits states from making laws that discriminate against interstate commerce…