Drug Industry Boosts Lobbying
By ALICIA MUNDY
June 25, 2008; Page A12
WASHINGTON -- The pharmaceutical industry's spending on lobbying skyrocketed in 2007 as Democrats took control of Congress, according to a report by a Washington watchdog group.
The Center for Public Integrity said drug companies spent $168 million on lobbying last year, up 32% from 2006. The efforts paid off on some important issues. The industry persuaded Congress to drop some proposed restrictions on direct-to-consumer advertising last year, and won renewal for two bills that speed approvals for new drugs and medical devices at the Food and Drug Administration and extend protection against generic competition for some brand-name medicines.
Also, for the first time, the center's report said, the pharmaceutical and health-products industry has given slightly more money to Democrats than Republicans, a change from the 2006 cycle when Democrats received 31% of that industry's contributions.
The biggest lobbying spender last year among pharmaceuticals was the industry's hub group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which paid $23 million, a 26% rise from a year earlier. Amgen Inc. was first among drug firms at $16.2 million, followed by Pfizer Inc., the world's largest pharmaceutical company by sales, at $13.8 million. Others included Roche Holding AG ($9 million), Sanofi-Aventis SA ($8.4 million), GlaxoSmithKline PLC ($8.2 million) and Johnson & Johnson ($7.7 million).
Democrats in Congress have been traditionally less friendly to drug corporations, and vice versa. Since Democrats took the majority in the House and Senate, the drug industry and its regulators at the FDA have been under constant barrage, spurred in part by a Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who has found new allies such as Rep. John Dingell (D., Mich.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The center's report said the pharmaceutical lobby's focus includes blocking the importation of inexpensive foreign drugs and protecting drug patents in the U.S. and overseas.
However, the industry's support for limiting drug imports comes at a time when it is coming under attack over safety issues for its foreign outsourcing of drug manufacturing as well as for its own imports from other countries such as China. The recent crisis involving contaminated heparin from China has prompted several congressional inquiries into the ability and determination of U.S. drug firms to ensure the safety of the drugs and drug ingredients they import.
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