Pharmaceutical industry protects flanks as U.S. states close in

[PhilipShore]

International Herald Tribune
The New York Times
Pharmaceutical industry protects flanks as U.S. states close in
By Stephanie Saul
JANUARY 30, 2006

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/30/business/drug.php

The pairings at a charity golf tournament last August created a flap when a drug industry lobbyist was teamed with Scott Brown, the drug czar who had been recently appointed by West Virginia's governor to rein in the state's pharmaceutical costs.

"It raised eyebrows," recalled Dan Foster, a state senator and medical doctor who also played in the Tin Cup Challenge, a fund-raiser for the Special Olympics. Brown, he said, "was riding in the same cart with the chief pharmaceutical lobbyist."

Brown said later that he did not know he would be teamed with Philip Reale, the pharmaceutical industry lobbyist, until just before they teed off. But industry critics saw the episode as simply another example of the drug industry, which has more than two dozen lobbyists registered in West Virginia, flaunting its clout.

In the end, it was more a tempest in a Tin Cup than a West Virginia version of the Jack Abramoff lobbying affair. Yet it illustrates how the pharmaceutical industry, long known as the richest lobbying force in Washington and for its success so far in staving off federal drug price controls, also protects its flanks - all 50 of them. Even with a bright line dividing red and blue states, controlling drug costs is a subject with nearly universal popular appeal, which is a reason the industry must watch states closely.

[Faygo Kid]

1. Big PHarma has a huge stake in perpetuating Bush

Do not underestimate the power and wealth of this lobby. They are at the top. Thanks for the post.