“Pharma money is all over the place — in universities, companies doing continuing medical education for doctors and in prominent patient advocacy organizations that are household names across America,” Rachana Pradhan writes over at Kaiser Health News. “Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy nonprofit, reports today that between 2010 and 2022, the drug industry’s main lobbying group and member companies provided at least $6 billion in grants to more than 20,000 organizations. The analysis, provided exclusively to KFF Health News in advance of its release, focused on the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and 31 drug companies that were members of the trade group as of March. The money dwarfs industry spending over that time on federal lobbying and campaign contributions to lawmakers. With high drug prices a regular topic of debate in Washington, drug industry grants to patient advocacy groups in particular raises questions about conflicts of interest — including whether organizations that accept the industry’s money shy away from pushing policies the drugmakers oppose, even if patients may benefit. ‘There’s a risk that those entanglements influence the work of those organizations,’ said Matthew McCoy, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied patient advocacy groups’ influence and transparency. He said … companies aren’t blindly choosing which groups to fund but instead are ‘probably selecting organizations that are already inclined to see the world, see the policy issues, the way they see it.’ Examples: … The American Heart Association received $64.1 million over the 12-year period. The American Cancer Society and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, together received $23.1 million. The question is whether the money affects the heavyweight groups’ advocacy. After the House passed the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s statement hailed the bill’s cap on Medicare enrollees’ out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and additional tax credits for ACA insurance plans. But the group was silent on a contentious provision giving Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers.” Rachana Pradhan, “Millions of dollars flow from pharma to patient advocacy groups,” Kaiser Health News.
