IF YOU want to win friends and influence people in high places 鈥� like Capitol Hill 鈥� take a leaf from the pharmaceutical industry鈥檚 book. A report published last week reveals that drug firms have spent $800 million since 1998 buying influence, including $675 million on direct lobbying of Congress. That鈥檚 well ahead of the $597 million spent over the same period by the next biggest lobbyist, the insurance industry.
And all those dollars paid off handsomely, concludes the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), a non-profit organisation in Washington DC that has collated public records such as federal records and lobbying disclosure forms. Its report reveals that during the period studied, federal oversight of the pharmaceutical industry was weakened, protection for patents was strengthened, markets for cheap generic drugs were squeezed and more tax credits were granted. 鈥淚t is astonishing to learn that no other interest [group] has spent more money to sway public policy,鈥� says Roberta Baskin, executive director of the CPI. In terms of campaign contributions, President George Bush was the biggest winner, receiving $798,732 over seven years. Altogether, $87 million was spent on campaign donations to candidates in Congress and presidential elections, and political parties.
鈥淚t is astonishing that no other interest group has spent more money to sway public policy鈥�
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In 2004 alone, drug makers spent $128 million on deploying 1300 lobbyists. Of these, more than half were former federal officials, insiders who know which strings to pull to benefit their employers. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not accusing drug companies of wrongdoing,鈥� says Baskin. 鈥淗owever, we do believe that such financial success deserves close scrutiny.鈥�
鈥淭he report is clearly biased and one-sided,鈥� said industry association Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in a statement. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 regulations and laws encourage companies to take risks as they pursue cutting-edge research.鈥�