US pharma lobbying thrives, reaching $155M in six months of 2006, says CPI

Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other health products spent nearly $182.0 million on federal lobbying in the USA from January 2005 through June 2006, according to a study of disclosure records by the Center for Public Integrity, a non-government group describing itself as dedicated to investigative journalism on issues of public concern.

Drugmakers and their trade groups spent most of this, some $155.0 million, lobbying on a variety of issues ranging from protecting lucrative pharmaceutical patents to keeping lower-priced Canadian medicines from being imported to the USA, claims the CPI.

Many of the bills targeted by lobbyists for drug interests last year were largely the result of public concerns over high drug prices and safety issues. Drug companies "have been facing an increasingly furious Congress and an increasingly disgruntled public," said Amy Allina, program director at the National Women's Health Network, a women's health advocacy group.