In what appears to be a novel twist on political action, Pfizer is mailing glossy brochures to patients, and included is a form letter they can mail to their congressmen and senators to battle efforts to lower drug prices.

“History reminds us that when the government interferes in a free market and controls prices, the results can be dangerous,” the brochures warns, according to a story in The Boston Globe.

Apparently, this kind of direct marketing and political action is something new for drugmakers. Of course, drug companies have political rights, too. But one critic, Harvard’s Jerry Avorn, calls it a “distortion of the democratic process.”

Maybe. But the move is likely to catch on. Drug companies already recruit patients, including celebrities, for their ads. They sometimes fund so-called patient advocacy groups to lobby Washington, without always declaring their financial backing. So, quite frankly, it’s surprising the industry hasn’t tried this sort of thing before.

One key question: will this become another to criticize spending that should be saved for research. As the story notes, it may cost more than $4 for each brochure, individually. There are bulk rates for printing and mailing, but still….If each company distributed millions regularly, that could just mean fewer scientists in the lab.

[tags]Lobbying, Patient Advocacy Groups, Pfizer[/tags]