NEW YORK, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Medicare Part D drug benefit and other issues are spurring big pharma to throw its muscle behind GOP congressional candidates.
According to a report published Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal, drug-industry dollars are helping to fuel the campaigns of Republican candidates like embattled incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who faces a tight race against Democratic challenger Bob Casey Jr., who calls the Part D program a "giveaway to Big Pharma." The Santorum re-election bid has drawn $454,500 in contributions from pharmaceutical companies, WSJ said.
Part D has drawn fire from Democrats in congressional races in part because it doesn't permit the federal government to negotiate with drug companies on drug prices, and Democratic challengers have vowed to change that if elected, the report said.
Drug companies are also using their financial weight to fight Democratic candidates who propose lifting the ban on the importation of prescription drugs from Canada and who want to toughen the Food and Drug Administration's approval process for drugs, WSJ said.
The newspaper listed the drug industry's campaign contributions to other GOP candidates in the November race, including:
-- Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah -- $310,050
-- Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J. -- $239,670
-- Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio -- $214,040
-- Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga. -- $183,590
The WSJ also reported pharmaceutical companies gave $226,550 to the campaign of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and $240,740 to the re-election bid of Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who the report noted is "running as an Independent but leans Democratic."
