“A harsh new political climate for drugmakers”

Watch out for “A harsh new political climate for drugmakers” as Democratic control of Congress may lead to lower prescription drug prices. And to think, drugmakers already spend $100 million per year on lobbying.

Hoping to prevent Congress from letting the government negotiate lower drug prices for millions of older Americans on Medicare, the pharmaceutical companies have been recruiting Democratic lobbyists, lining up allies in the Bush administration and Congress, and renewing ties with organizations of patients who depend on brand-name drugs.

Many drug company lobbyists concede that the House is likely to pass a bill intended to drive down drug prices, but they are determined to block such legislation in the Senate. If that strategy fails, they are counting on President Bush to veto any bill that passes. With 49 Republicans in the Senate this year, the industry is confident that it can round up the 34 votes normally needed to uphold a veto….

Tags: brand_name_drugs, lobbyists, pharmaceutical_companies, prescription_drug_prices

This entry was posted on Monday, February 26th, 2007 at 6:18 pm and is filed under UPbeat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.