60 Minutes Beats Up Big Pharma
7 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // April 1st, 2007 // 7:18 pm
Lobbying is a healthy activity in a democracy, but the opening segment on tonight’s 60 Minutes should make anyone in big pharma cringe. The program explored the relationship between drugmakers and Congress - where industry lobbyists reportedly outnumber representatives 2-to-1 - by recapping the debate over the Medicare Part D bill. And drugmakers didn’t fare well.
The show zeroed in on that particular debate because voting was extended beyond the usual 15 minutes to an unprecedented 2 hours and 45 minutes - until 3 am - while Republicans arm twisted and bullied recalcitrant members of their own party into supporting the bill. “I’ve been in politics for 22 years and it was the ugliest night I have ever seen,” says Walter Jones, a Republican congressman from North Carolina. “The pharmaceutical lobbyists wrote the bill.”
Following the passage of Medicare Part D, the show pointed out that at least 15 congressional representatives, staffers or federal officials soon left for jobs as lobbyists for Amgen, Novartis, Roche, Johnson & Johnson and PhRMA, either as employees or hired consultants. One was Tom Scully, the White House point man who left his job as head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services just 10 days after the bill passed.
Another was former congressman Billy Tauzin who led the charge and, six months later, as we all know, left to run PhRMA at a $2 million salary. “It just doesn’t look good,” says correspondent Steve Kroft. Tauzin appeared on camera and explained his job choice by pointing to a recent bout with cancer, which was beaten back by medicine. “There’s nothing I couldn’t have done in my life after 25 years in Congrees that wouldn’t have looked bad,” he replies.
Not so sure about that. But the criticism - that the bill is a windfall for big pharma and Medicare Part D costs much more than the White House would acknowledge - is nothing new. But the show did accomplish two things. First, it kept the controversy over industry influence in the public eye. And the program didn’t just cite numbers; it put a face to a long-standing practice in which government reps and staffers support big pharma legislation and then work for industry.
Big pharma - and every industry, for that matter - argue that lobbying is part of the legislative and policymaking process. Fair enough. But drugmakers shouldn’t complain about the kind of attention this can generate. If big pharma doesn’t appreciate these kinds of reports, there’s a choice: accept the criticism as part of the process, or cut back on the lobbying and seductive job offers. Can’t have it both ways.
Tomorrow, the Center for Public Integrity releases a report on pharmaceutical industry lobbying and Pharmalot will take a look.
60 Minutes transcript.[tags]Amgen, Billy Tauzin, Dan Burton, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, PhRMA, Tom Scully, Walter Jones[/tags]
Pharm Aid
It’s no surprise that the 60 Minutes show was particularly biased against the industry.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen it yet (but did record it). However, I did speak with the 60 Minutes freelance producer leading up to the segment several times. The woman’s name is Barbara T. Dreyfuss, a long-time critic of the Medicare drug benefit and AARP’s CEO Bill Novelli. Dreyfuss worked hard to make inferences and allegations were none exist.
Having not seen the show, I don’t know if Barbara Dreyfuss’ financial conflicts of interests in this matter were disclosed, however I’m betting they weren’t.
ed
Hi Pharm-Aid
Nice to hear from you. I’ve read a couple of her pieces in the past, but nothing about any conflict involving a producer or contributor to the segment was mentioned, that I recall. Tell us more about the conflicts.
regards
ed
Pharm Aid
Everyone has biases. I think you need to be honest about them and not pass them off as “journalism.”
If CBS wishes to engage a freelancer or a researcher to help on the project, fine. Just be honest with your audience about it and what else this person does for a living and who/what else this person is accepting money from–be it journalistic articles for magazines, paid-for speaking engagements or consulting opportunities.
ed
Hi again,
I tend to agree that everyone has a bias, of sorts, because that’s human nature. Although journalists - most, anyway - do attempt to train themselves to stop and think about the various sides to a story because that helps accomplish the work. You may not agree, but that’s how I see it.
In any event, I do agree that any conflict, should one exist, ought to be disclosed. But I still don’t know, unfortunately, which potential conflicts you’re alluding to. I’m not representing or defending 60 Minutes, I’d just like to know more about the issue you’ve raised involving the producer.
regards
ed
Daniel Haszard
Senator Grassley is my Hero for investigating the Eli Lilly Zyprexa matter
Eli Lilly makes billions on diabetes treatment and also gets $4.2 billion a year in sales of their biggest cash cow Zyprexa which has been scandalized as *causing* diabetes as a major side effect.
In 2004, the American Diabetes Association found that Zyprexa was more likely to cause diabetes than many other antipsychotic drugs.
Zyprexa off label promotion scandal is all over the news now.
Lilly drug reps are alleged to have called their marketing ploy,”Viva zyprexa”.
Zyprexa which is only FDA approved for schizophrenia (.5-1% of pop) and some bipolar (2% pop) and then an even smaller percentage of theses two groups.
There are now 7 states (and counting) going after Lilly for fraud and restitution.
–
Daniel Haszard
Tom Tarpey
The Drug companies control the FDA and many members of Congress. This industry has lots of money and buy what it wants from Congress. The American consumer is the victim of the greed of the Drug Industry. The whole regulatory system stinks to high heaven and is full of fraud, price gouging, and dirty tricks. The sick and aged suffer from the insatuable greed of this criminal crocked industry with so much money and political power. Ask the recipient of the bribes like a 2 million job to Billy Tauzin and the others in congress that the drug industrial subtlely paid for services rendered.
Tom Tarpey
The Drug companies control the FDA and many members of Congress. This industry has lots of money and buy what it wants from Congress. The American consumer is the victim of the greed of the Drug Industry. The whole regulatory system stinks to high heavin and is full of fraud, price gouging, and dirty tricks. The sick and aged suffer from the insatuable greed of this criminal crocked industry with so much money and political power. Ask the recipient of the bribes like a 2 million job to Billy Tauzin and the others in congress that the drug industrial subtlely paid for services rendered.