By David Sell
Inquirer Staff Writer
Drug ads with scary-sounding side effects have regularly appeared on TV since 1995, but rarely has a major pharmaceutical company played such an unscripted, prime-time role as Merck did Monday night - a moment that put the klieg lights on corporate political contributions.
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann attacked fellow Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry during the GOP debate over the Texas governor's 2007 decision to have young girls inoculated against a virus that can contribute to cervical cancer.
The vaccine for the HPV virus is Gardasil, made in Merck's plant in West Point, Montgomery County.
The controversy spun around the country, with medicine, politics, ethics, religion, and business all coming into play.
"Is it about life or was it about millions of dollars and potentially billions for a drug company?" Bachmann asked Perry.
Perry said Merck gave his campaign only $5,000 of the roughly $30 million he raised.
"If you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended," Perry said.
The Texas Tribune reported that Merck had given Perry nearly $30,000 over his 10 years as governor and much more to the Republican Governors Association while Perry led that group. Merck also hired Perry's former chief of staff as a lobbyist.
The Associated Press reported that Perry's staff met with Merck personnel before the controversial 2007 decision. The Texas Legislature overturned Perry's inoculation order.
Merck had lobbied governors and state legislators to include the vaccine among those required for schoolchildren.
Evangelical Christian leaders opposed the vaccine in 2006, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its use. They expressed concerns that if girls 11 or 12 years old were vaccinated, they would be less inhibited sexually.
Bachmann and Perry are fighting for that branch of the party, and Bachmann was also playing to her donors. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Bachmann has received some pharmaceutical money, though none from Merck, while receiving much more from single-issue conservative donors and financial groups.
In 2006, Wall Street analysts predicted Gardasil could bring $4 billion a year in sales. But with fewer states requiring vaccinations, sales hopes dimmed. Gardasil sales totaled $490 million in the first six months of 2011, according to Merck's second-quarter report.
Like other pharmaceutical companies, Merck is struggling to keep profits high amid market forces. The firm recently announced 13,000 jobs would be cut.
Big Pharma is hardly alone in corporate campaign contributions. Federal Election Commission records indicate that in 2009-10, the five most generous corporate political action committees belonged to Honeywell International Inc. ($3,654,700), AT&T Inc., Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., and Comcast Corp. Pfizer Inc., which has operations in Collegeville, was 20th overall, and Merck & Co. Inc. was 25th at $868,500.
The Merck website has a spreadsheet showing political contributions through the first six months of 2011.
In Pennsylvania, Merck gave to the U.S. Senate campaign of Democrat Bob Casey and Democratic House members Jason Altmire,, Chaka Fattah, and Allyson Y. Schwartz, whose district includes West Point. Merck also gave to Republican House members Charlie Dent, Mike Fitzpatrick, Jim Gerlach, Pat Meehan, Tim Murphy, and Joe Pitts. At the state level, Merck gave money to 10 members of the House and Senate, with all but one being Republicans, who control both chambers.
In New Jersey, where Merck has headquarters and has several facilities, the company gave money to Republican House members Jon Runyan, Rodney Frelinghuysen, Leonard Lance, and Democratic House member Bill Pascrell. Merck contributed to the campaigns of 45 Assembly and Senate members, 28 of them being Democrats, who control both chambers.
"Our decisions are based upon legislators' overall policy positions and are made without regard to party affiliation," Merck spokesman Ron Rogers said. "Merck is committed to participating constructively in the political process and to disclosing information about our political contributions."
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/130052753.html#ixzz1YIHcHVR1
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