Pharmaceutical industry spending on lobbying rose 32% to $168 million in 2007, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
With the FDA Amendments Act and other contentious legislation affecting the industry in play, PhRMA was the top industry spender, shelling out nearly $23 million on lobbying – a 26% increase in spending over 2006. The trade group and its allies got their money’s worth, as restrictions on marketing were scuttled.
Among individual companies, Amgen was the biggest spender, dropping $16.2 million on lobbying amid government investigations centered on its anemia franchise. Next up was Pfizer, at $13.8 million, followed by Roche ($9 million), Sanofi-Aventis ($8.4 million), GlaxoSmithKline ($8.2 million) and Johnson & Johnson ($7.7 million).
Altogether, the industry has spent more than $1 billion on lobbying over the past decade, said the Center for Public Integrity, which based its analysis on Senate Office of Public Records data. The group’s report is titled Pushing prescriptions: how the drug industry sells its agenda at your expense.
