US drugmakers back Obama for President

US drugmakers, in a dramatic shift compared with previous presidential elections, have donated considerably more money to the Democratic party candidate, Senator Barack Obama (Illinois) than to his main rival Senator John McCain (Arizona). According to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, which publishes details of corporate funding of election campaigns, Sen Obama has received $450,094 versus Sen McCain's $132,575.

According to analysts, the main reason for the reversal is that Sen McCain is notoriously opposed to federal subsidies, he was among a handful of Senators to oppose the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which introduced the Part D prescription drug program for senior citizens. Instead, the Arizona Senator supports drug importation from Canada and encouraging generic prescribing.

However, the clinching argument for financing Sen Obama's election campaign appears to be that he is more likely to win, according to Washington DC insiders. If previous drug industry election funding is an indicator, however, Sen McCain is likely to be cheered by the knowledge that, early in the primary election campaign, the bulk of funding went to Sen Hillary Clinton, who was defeated by Sen Obama. The drug industry's most heavily-supported Senator in the 2006 elections, Rick Santorum (Republican, Pennsylvania), also lost to his Democrat opponent, Bob Casey (Marketletters passim).