The pharmaceutical industry increased its lobbying presence during the first quarter of this year. Roll Call‘s Political MoneyLine blog notes that Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer and Merck were at the top of the list of pharma companies whose lobbying outlays were up from the fourth quarter of 2013.
Among the increases:
Pfizer upped its lobbying efforts this quarter by almost 53%, to $3.9 million, compared to $2.1 million in the fourth quarter, while Novartis put close to $2.6 million toward lobbying in the first quarter, compared to $920,000 in the fourth quarter of last year.
J&J dialed up its efforts, to $2.1 million, up from $860,000, and Merck more than doubled its efforts, with $2 million this quarter, compared to $820,000 last quarter.
But some drugmakers dialed back their efforts: Bristol-Myers Squibb proffered $520,000 during the first quarter, down from $740,000 last quarter, while Novo Nordisk reduced its outlay to $710,000, compared to $820,000 last quarter.
