Industry Donates To Drug Plan Foes

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2009 -- Lawmakers who count pharmaceutical companies among their biggest contributors lead the opposition to a health care proposal that would cut costs by allowing generic drugs to compete sooner with pricey biotechnology drugs, campaign-finance records show.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has helped lead Senate efforts to give drug companies 12 years of exclusive rights to sell biotech drugs, rather than seven as proposed by President Obama. Hatch has received nearly $1.3 million from the employees and political action committees of drug and health products companies since 1989, making the industry his largest contributor, according to data compiled by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.

In the House, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., whose district is home to dozens of biotech companies, is sponsoring a similar measure. Drug company employees and political action committees have donated $645,000 since 1992 to Eshoo — second only to the computer and Internet industry.

This year, she is the biggest recipient of pharmaceutical money in the House, the data show.

Hatch and Eshoo say the donations have no bearing on policy decisions.

"I've voted against them, and I have been with them," Eshoo said of drug companies. In this case, she said, the 12 years are needed to help companies recoup their investments. Other drugs have five years of exclusivity.

Industries donate "because they agree with the principles espoused by the candidate," Hatch said in an e-mail. " I don't believe they are trying to influence candidate's decisions."

The debate is part of a massive health care overhaul that is Obama's top domestic priority — and comes as lawmakers look to cut federal spending to pay the estimated $1 trillion price tag.

There is no process for the Food and Drug Administration to approve generic versions of so-called biologic drugs. The complex drugs, made from living cells, are costly: A year's supply of breast cancer drug Herceptin runs $48,000, the Federal Trade Commission says.

The Congressional Budget Office says allowing generics after 12 years would save the government $9.2 billion to $12 billion over a decade — with bigger savings if the exclusivity lasted for a shorter period.

This month, the Senate health committee approved 12 years of exclusivity in a measure authored by Hatch and Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Kay Hagan, D-N.C.

Drug companies have given $289,000 to Enzi since 1996, second only to the oil and gas industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Enzi spokesman Craig Orfield said the senator is not swayed by the donations, which he said flow to Enzi as the top Republican on the panel that oversees health care. "It's the kind of the reaction you always see to any member to ascends to the leadership of a committee," Orfield said.

Drug companies represent eight out of 22 political action committee donations Hagan received this year, according to CQ MoneyLine, which tracks money in politics. Hagan "doesn't take contributions into account" when making decisions, spokeswoman Stephanie Allen said.