Who Didn’t Lobby for the Drug Industry?
Lobbying by all industries in Washington, D.C. appeared to dip last year because of an overall slump in the American economy. But the biggest drug companies showed no signs of cutting back on their lobbying. Instead, they increased their lobbying expenditures and number of lobbyists in 2001. In fact, the 10 most active drug companies and industry groups spent 16 percent more on Washington, D.C. lobbying in 2001 than the previous year, as they boosted their lobbying bills from $43 million to $49.8 million. (See Table 1) These top 10 companies and industry groups accounted for two-thirds of all drug industry lobbying expenditure in 2001. The biggest increase in lobbying activity was by the drug industry’s trade association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which hiken spending 51 percent from $7.5 million in 2000 to $11.3 million last year. PhRMA spent more on lobbying than any other drug industry organization in 2001. Other companies that significantly hiked
