WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - The Biden administration

said on Tuesday it has responded to offers from the

manufacturers of 10 high-cost drugs selected for the U.S.

Medicare program's first-ever pricing negotiations, but provided

no details.

Part of 2022's Inflation Reduction Act allows Medicare to

negotiate prices for prescription drugs that had been

particularly expensive for the federal health program that

covers millions of Americans aged 65 and older as well as the

disabled.

The agency overseeing Medicare, the Centers for Medicare and

Medicaid Services (CMS), picked the first 10 drugs for

negotiation in August and sent its initial price offers in

February. The companies involved had until March 1 to respond

and all did so.

Each company can meet with CMS up to three times for further

negotiations before a final price is announced on Aug. 1. The

negotiated prices will come into effect in 2026.

Drugs made by Bristol Myers Squibb ( BMY ), Pfizer ( PFE ),

Merck & Co ( MRK ), Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ), AbbVie ( ABBV ),

Amgen ( AMGN ), Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly ( LLY ), and

Novo Nordisk were selected for negotiation.

A federal judge in Delaware on March 1 rejected

AstraZeneca's lawsuit looking to block price

negotiations, marking the third time the Biden administration's

program has survived a court challenge.