From Patients for Affordable Drugs: “The influence of pharmaceutical companies on patient advocacy organizations is well-documented. Major drug companies and their trade associations pour millions into lobbying, political contributions, and funding for front groups masquerading as patient advocates – all to protect their profits and block reforms that would lower drug prices.
In 2022 alone, PhRMA spent a staggering $52 million in an attempt to block the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the law that finally granted Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices for up to 60 of the most expensive and commonly used drugs after a two decades long prohibition on negotiation. But that was just the beginning.
In Q1 of 2025 alone, PhRMA, the industry’s trade association, spent a record $12.9 million in federal lobbying – the most it’s ever spent in a single quarter – to undermine drug price reforms and keep prices high for patients. Drug companies and their trade associations continue to spend tens of millions each year, working to reverse the law, delay its implementation, and block any expansion of Medicare negotiation to more drugs or more people.”
