…more accustomed to backing Republican candidates for president. As the Democratic Convention builds to its unsurprising crescendo, a few drugmakers have tried to generate some political capital behind the scenes.

For instance, Merck, Amgen, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Mylan Labs, Abbott Labs and Lilly all signed up as official sponsors. And as FDA Legislative Watch notes, the ceo’s from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Lilly, Amgen and Merck are showing up. (Back story on Pfizer’s Jeff Kindler).

Meanwhile, the newsletter notes that Lilly teamed with the National Black Caucus of State Legislatures and the Creative Coalition, an entertainment advocacy group, to host a reception and VIP dinner in celebration of African-American leaders. Among those honored: Spike Lee and the head of the NBCSL. The group co-sponsored another luncheon with AstraZeneca to honor of The Campaign for Mental Health Reform. And PhRMA is in between hosting brunches dubbed “Sharing Miracles” at both conventions.

With thanks to the very-much-missed Warren Zevon for the wonderful song