JULY 18 2005 -- A new Center for Public Integrity (Washington DC) investigation alleges that the pharmaceutical industry has "hired about 3,000 lobbyists, more than a third of them former federal officials, to advance their interests" before the House, Senate, FDA, DHHS, and other executive branch offices.
A third of all lobbyists employed by the pharma/biotech industry “are former federal government employees, including more than a dozen former Senators and more than 50 former members of the US House of Representatives," the study claims.
"In 2003 alone, the industry spent nearly $128 mln lobbying the government. That was the year that Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which created a taxpayer-funded prescription drug benefit for senior citizens," the study alleges.
"The US government contributes more money to the development of new drugs -- in the form of tax breaks and subsidies -- than any other government. Of the 20 largest pharmaceutical corporations, 9 are based in the US. Yet drugs are more expensive in the US than in any other part of the world, and global drug companies make the bulk of their profits in the US," the study asserts.
In particular, the study claims that over one-third of pharmaceutical (and biotech) companies' resources go into promotion and marketing. "Annually, the industry spends up to $60 bln on drug marketing -- nearly twice what it spends on R&D. In 2004, Pfizer spent almost $120 mln for media ads for Lipitor, the world's #1 selling prescription drug, while companies promoting erectile dysfunction treatments Viagra, Levitra and Cialis spent $425 mln. Direct to consumer advertisement has also grown significantly: from $791 mln in 1996 to $3.8 bln in 2004.â€
The study alleges that the top 20 pharmaceutical companies and 2 of the industry's leading trade groups, PhRMA and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), disclosed lobbying on over 1,600 bills in 1998-2004. However, "they may have lobbied on far more bills; the Center could only count bills specifically mentioned by the companies and trade groups in their filings. In many cases, lobbyists list issues, like animal health issues, rather than specific bills. In counting the number of bills, the Center excluded those lobbied on by BIO that relate solely to biotechnology issues, such as genetically engineered foods."
Apart from Congress, the industry also lobbied DHHS, FDA and the State Dept on various issues. "PhRMA lobbied 33 federal agencies on 39 issues separately identified under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995," the study claims.
These agencies "include the Office of the US Trade Representative, which shapes the country's trade agreements with other nations. Since 1998, it has filed 59 lobbying reports concerning the USTR, more than any other lobby or interest."