$609,000 a day. That’s how much the drug and biotech companies have been spending to influence Congress in the health reform debate, more than any other industry. So it’s no surprise that they have been extraordinarily successful.
In the upcoming issue of dead-tree TIME, Michael Scherer and I look behind the scenes at the fight over biologics, the expensive miracle drugs that are revolutionizing health care and making billions for the companies that produce them. This is a battle you may not have heard about, but its outcome will be hugely significant — both to the drug industry’s future and to yours. And it provides a window into how money and influence work in Washington today.
The story begins with a most unusual event: the fearsome House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman getting rolled by his own committee. You can read it here.