Big Pharma throws its weight around in Washington

As a result, Big Pharma has launched a public relations campaign aimed at lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

A new report by The Hill details a plan by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, to use top level scientists and researchers to sway lawmakers away from policy changes that could ultimately hinder the industry’s lucrative business model.

Representing 48 pharmaceutical companies, PhRMA is one of the largest and most influential lobbying organizations in Washington, according to SourceWatch. It has a history of concealing its lobbying and PR activities by paying other organizations to act as a front group, including the United Seniors Association and the Consumer Alliance.

PhRMA serves on the corporate board of the right-winged American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a powerful bill mill in which “corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line.”

ALEC was behind 2011 Wisconsin Act 2, which according to SourceWatch‘s reporting sought to limit “the ability to hold corporations accountable for causing injury or death” and to “make it easier for corporations like drugmakers to escape liability for manufacturing dangerous products or products with insufficient warnings about hazards.”

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