Is The Pharma Drug Lobby Broken?
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
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By Rob Wright
Over the holidays, I took the time to read the Washington Post, Friday (12/28/12). Several articles caught my attention — the fiscal cliff, increased utilization of tablets and e-readers, and how the potential dock strike could cripple U.S. trade. There was even a six-page advertising supplement titled “China Watch,” covering everything from farming to tourism. As I read the advertorial on p. H3 “NE China’s First Stem Cell Bank To Open In Harbin,” I realized I had not noticed an article involving biotech, healthcare, or pharma in this edition. So I thumbed through the edition again to be sure, twice in fact. Not one mention, though just a month or so ago, U.S. citizens were debating how healthcare was a right, while others argued that Obamacare would slow or halt economic recovery. Suddenly I had a revelation. Not that we, as a nation, are a fickle people, eager to drink in the latest tragedy, such as the school shooting in Connecticut, but that the pharma industry is not making enough noise. In other words — the pharma lobby is broken.
U.S. Needs Daily Dose Of Healthcare News
The United States is the world’s number one healthcare spender in terms of percentage of GDP. Per capita health expenditure is set to grow to unprecedented levels following the implementation of the recently passed Affordable Care Act (ACA). Figures estimate that healthcare makes up around 16% of the U.S. GDP. If a newspaper article is not appearing on a daily basis in our nation’s capital about our industry, which we worry is soon to become a casualty of export to the emerging markets, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. PhRMA was once considered to be one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the world. I believe it still is. But if we aren't appearing in the news on daily basis in our nation's top newspapers with stories depicting our dilemma and what we are doing about it, then we need to change our approach. Let’s start with our communications departments at big pharma.
Sanitized Stories Need To Go
For the past two years, I have interviewed execs from both big and small pharma companies. As you might expect, small company execs are more willing and able to speak their minds. Conversely, execs at big pharma often have their words “scrubbed” by the communications department and approved by legal, so as to make sure the message conveyed is “appropriate.” Often, the result is vanilla, sterile, and uninteresting editorial that says nothing. I understand the impact that a few words here or there by an executive can have on a company’s finances. But I still believe that if we want to warrant increased positive media coverage fir this industry, we need to be willing to say something of value. I’m not saying you should give away trade secrets to a journalist, just try avoiding speaking in platitudes.
I’d love it if a CEO of a top 50 pharma company picked up the phone — without the approval or guidance of their communications department — and shared their thoughts on such global topics as where the industry is headed or what we need to do to progress. I’d love to have a real discussion about how we can make some positive noise about our industry — before it's too late.