Aug 8 (Reuters) - An Ohio federal judge on Thursday

dismissed a lawsuit by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and state

and local business groups challenging a new program requiring

drugmakers to negotiate prices with Medicare, finding that the

groups could not bring the case on behalf of their members.

U.S. District Judge Michael Newman in Dayton, Ohio, ruled

that the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Chamber of

Commerce and Michigan Chamber of Commerce had no standing to sue

because their claims did not relate specifically to the state

and local interests they were meant to protect.

The judge found that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also a

plaintiff in the case, did have standing to bring claims on

behalf of its members over nationwide issues like the drug

pricing law, since its purpose is to represent business

interests nationwide. However, he said, it had no reason to

bring its case in Ohio and so must be dismissed as well.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),

which oversees the Medicare federal health insurance program,

and a lawyer for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to

requests for comment.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by

President Joe Biden in 2022, HHS was required to identify the

100 most expensive drugs in the program and pick 10 for price

negotiations that began last year.

The Ohio lawsuit was one of several filed by drugmakers and

industry groups around the country challenging the program. So

far, all of those challenges have lost in court, though

plaintiffs are expected to appeal.

In the Ohio case, the business groups said they had standing

to sue because AbbVie ( ABBV ) and its Pharmacyclics subsidiary,

whose cancer drug Imbruvica is among those chosen for the

negotiations, belong to all four associations. Newman last

September refused to issue a preliminary order blocking the drug

pricing law, but allowed their lawsuit to continue.

On Thursday, however, he said that business associations

like the plaintiffs only have standing to sue on behalf of their

members if the claim relates to their purpose. He said the state

and local groups were formed specifically to promote business in

their regions.

"Plaintiffs have provided no information...directly

connecting the interests of Pharmacyclics or AbbVie ( ABBV ) to the

business climate in the Dayton area," Newman wrote, adding that

the same reasoning applied to the Ohio and Michigan Chambers of

Commerce.

Newman cited a concurring opinion by conservative U.S.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in a case rejecting

anti-abortion groups' standing to challenge the federal approval

of the abortion pill mifepristone. Thomas called into question

the standing of business associations to sue on behalf of their

members, a common practice in U.S. courts.

Medicare spends billions of dollars annually on drugs for

66 million people who are age 65 and older or have disabilities.

It is expected to announce 2026 cuts to list prices of at least

25% by Sept. 1.

Some drug company executives said last month that they do

not expect a significant impact on their business.

Read more:

US judge refuses to block Medicare from negotiating drug

prices

Supreme Court's Thomas questions ability of groups to

challenge US laws

US Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill

mifepristone

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York)