U.S. drugmakers seek to change image

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. pharmaceutical industry, facing new U.S. government oversight prospects, unveiled a TV commercial Thursday touting health coverage for every American.

The commercial -- sponsored by the drug lobby, consumer and labor groups and health providers -- is part of a multimillion-dollar campaign the industry is launching to align itself rhetorically with the health reform goals of President-elect Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress, W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade association, told The Washington Post.

Drug companies also have begun voluntarily submitting to a host of marketing restrictions in an attempt to preempt stricter regulations that lawmakers in both parties are pursuing, the Post said.

"We had better self-police and stop doing the things that cause so much criticism, or we're going to get legislated and regulated by government," Tauzin, a former Republican congressmen from Louisiana, told the newspaper.

The changes seek to move the industry away from the "slash-and-burn kind of policy" it had in response to previous regulatory and legislative efforts, he said.

The industry is seeking to reposition itself ahead of the arrival of Obama, who is expected to work with the Democratic-controlled Congress to add muscle to the regulatory U.S. Food and Drug Administration and seek to overhaul of the U.S. health system, the Post said.

In 2008, for the first time in 18 years, industry contributions to Democrats were on par with money given to Republicans, an analysis by the watchdog Center for Responsive Politics found.