Old but might want to repost>>> Senators who protected Big Pharma received millions of dollars from drug companies (NewsTarget) November 19 2007

[Guest guest]

http://www.newstarget.com:80/022270.html Originally

published November 19 2007 Senators who protected

Big Pharma received millions of dollars from drug companies by

Gutierrez

(NewsTarget) Senators who received substantial donations from pharmaceutical

companies were instrumental in making a new drug bill more industry-friendly,

according to studies by nonprofit groups and remarks by some of the senators

themselves.

The bill, which passed the Senate 93-1 and now goes before the House of

Representatives, was introduced in order to correct the errors in FDA procedure

that allowed Merck's painkiller Vioxx to remain on the market for years, even

after evidence began to amass that it led to potentially fatal heart attacks.

It was based on recommendations by the

Institute of Medicine ,

a division of the National Academy of Sciences.

While the institute's recommendation to allow the FDA to monitor the safety of products

after approval was included in the final bill, it was significantly weakened at

the instigation of Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.. Gregg has received $168,500 from

the pharmaceutical industry

since 2001.

Other recommendations fared even less well. A proposal to allow the importation

of less expensive drugs from other countries was defeated 49-40. According to

research by the Center for Responsive Politics and Political Money Line, these

49 senators (less than 50 percent of the Senate) have received nearly 75

percent of the donations made by the drug industry since 2001, a total of $5

million.

In addition, a proposal to ban advertising of high-risk drugs for two years and

another to curb conflicts of interest in the drug approval process were

defeated by Senators who have received substantial industry contributions.

Even the bill's main sponsors weakened its provisions to help the drug

industry, by modifying a proposal that would have required that all clinical

drug studies be made part of the public record, and not just those submitted to

the FDA. Sen. Kennedy, D-Mass. has received $174,000 from the industry

since 2001, and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., has received $78,000.

"It's not that money buys votes," said Sen. Bernie , I-Vt.,

who cast the only vote against the bill. "But you have a culture in which

big money has significant influence. Big money gains you access, access gives

you the time to influence people."

The pharmaceutical industry spends more on lobbying -- $855 million between

1998 and 2006 -- than any other industry in the

United States , according to the

Center for Public Integrity.