Amicus Brief in US Supreme Court Case by the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM)

Amicus brief filed by the AAM – July 2018

On Monday, the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM), the trade association for American generic drugmakers, filed an amicus brief before the US Supreme Court. It was filed in the case of Bucklew vs. Precythe, which relates to the constitutionality of the lethal injection and will be heard by the Supreme Court later this year.

The brief notes that the AAM and its members strongly oppose the use of their medicines in executions, and have enacted restricted distribution controls to prevent the use of their medicines in executions.

The AAM also notes in its brief that the use of medicines in executions could have unintended consequences for public health. They write, “Continued misuse of drugs by corrections officials …could ultimately harm patients by contributing to drug shortages,” and “create market distortions that may negatively impact [patients’] access to certain drugs.”

The AAM’s membership consists of 25 global pharmaceutical companies, and reflects the healthcare industry’s unanimous opposition to the misuse of medicines in executions.

Read more from the AAM's brief