LOBBYING AS A PROMOTIONAL TOOL.

Presented by:

Kranthikiran C

Regd no:130607016

Dept. of Pharmacy Management

(PharmacyAdministration)

MCOPS, Manipal.

Guided by:

Pradeep M Muragundi

Assistant Professor

Dept. of Pharmacy Management

MCOPS, Manipal.

CONTENTS1. Introduction.

Public Public relation.

Definition of lobbying.

2. History of lobbying.

3.Types of lobbying.

4. Lobbying database.

5. Lobbying as a promotional tool.

6. Benefits of lobbying.

7. Conclusion.

8. References.

Introduction.

Public ? A public is any group that has actual or potential

interest in or impact on a company’s ability to achieve its objectives.

So a company not only should relate to the customers, suppliers, dealers but it also must relate to number of interested people or the public. This is called public relation.

Contd… Public relations perform some of the functions in

which Lobbying is one among them.

Definition of Lobbying: It is an act of attempting to

influence the decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or the members of the regulatory agencies.

Lobbying is done by many different types of people and organized groups.

The persons who are involved in the lobbying are called Lobbyists.

Professional lobbyists are people whose business is trying to influence legislation on behalf of a group or individual who hires them.

History of lobbying

Although some have noted it’s influence on the earliest political forums in Greece and Rome, what we know as modern lobbying began in the US.

In 1792, William Hull was hired by the Virginia veterans of the Continental army.

Contd…

In 1795, a Philadelphia newspaper described the way lobbyists waited outside Congress Hall to "give a hint to a member”.

In 1850, Samuel Colt gave away a free pistol to the twelve-year old son of a representative as a mild encouragement to sign a patent bill.

In 1946, Congress passed the first comprehensive lobbying disclosure law, the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act.

In 2011, Former Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), author of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, became Hollywood’s Chief lobbyist as CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America—but he’s not registered.

Types of lobbying.

Lobbying is of two types.1) Direct lobbying

2) Grassroots lobbying.

Direct lobbying is an attempt to influence legislation

through communication. Here the communication refers to specific legislation

and reflects a view on legislation.

Contd…

Grassroots lobbying is an attempt to influence legislation, through an attempt to influence the opinions of general public.It includes “a call to action”.

Organizations that sends out frequent calls to action urging their members to contact their legislators, and organizations that lobby through their employees should refer the IRS rules.

Lobbying by Country

Australia:Over the past twenty years lobbying in Australia has

grown from a small industry of a few hundred employees to a multi-billion dollar industry.

In Australia, lobbyists are expected to organize a pass to obtain access to the Federal Parliament.

The Pass is valid for two years.

European Union: More the political influence the European

Union ("EU") gains on a global level and the more policy areas it covers, the more interesting it becomes for lobbyists.

 Lobbying takes place at the European level itself and within the existing national states

As of 2003, around 15,000 Brussels-based lobbyists (consultants, lawyers, NGOs etc.) sought to influence the EU’s legislative process.

Contd…

• There are three main channels of indirect lobbying of the Council. First, lobbying groups routinely lobby the national

delegations in Brussels. The second indirect means of lobbying the Council is

for interest groups to lobby members of the many Council-working groups.

The third means of influencing the Council is directly via national governments.

United States:Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity

in which special interests hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress.

In Washington DC, lobbying usually targets congress persons.

Contd…

•  While lobbyists number upto 12,000 people in Washington DC those with real clout number in the dozens, a small group of firms handle much of lobbying in terms of expenditures.

• The current pattern suggests much lobbying is done by corporations, although a wide variety of coalitions representing diverse groups is possible

Contd…

• Since the 1970s, there has been explosive growth in the lobbying industry in Washington DC.

• By 2011, one estimate of overall lobbying spending nationally was $30+ billion.

• An estimate of lobbying expenses in the Federal arena was $3.5 billion in 2010, while it had been only $1.4 billion in 1998.

Lobbying Database

In addition to the campaign contributions to elected officials and candidates, some of the pharmaceutical companies and the other organizations spend billions of dollars each year to lobby.

Here we have got total lobbying spending as well as number of lobbyists beginning in 1998 to 2013.

$0.00

$0.50

$1.00

$1.50

$2.00

$2.50

$3.00

$3.50

$4.00

Total lobbying spending in billions

Number of lobbyists

Lobbying as a promotional tool

Lobbying as a social interaction: Lobbying involves efforts to make direct, private,

face-to-face contact with public officials. It is a necessary component of the dialogue between

citizens and their public officials. Due to the number of Bills and Amendments

introduced during each legislative session, it is impossible for the legislators to gauge the potential effects that each have on individuals.

Contd…

These public interest groups vary considerably in every imaginable way.

Some groups focus on single issue, while others focus on broader areas of public policy.

They promote policies that produce widely distributed benefits that anyone can enjoy like improvements in the public health.

Interest groups and political parties share some common attitudes and opinions.

AVANDIA (Rosiglitazone Maleate Tablet):

It is one of the world’s best selling drug for Diabetes. But, it is a source of causing 100 thousands of

heart attacks in U.S. The investigation by U.S Senate and Finance

Committee found that GSK was aware of the possible cardiac risks.

GSK is still trying to prevent the heart attack warnings printed on its boxes.

Contd… GSK had communicated that results from six clinical

trials show that Avandia does not increase the overall risk of heart attacks.

The company had concluded that when used in appropriate patient and in accordance with labelling, Avandia is safe and effective treatment option for Type2 Diabetes.

In 2006, Merck received FDA approval for Gardasil, the vaccine for Human Papilloma Virus(HPV).

Merck priced the vaccine at $360 for three injections. But, prior to the FDA approval, Merck began to

develop a market for Gardasil and launched an intensive campaign to get states to make HPV vaccine

LOBBYING BY BIG PHARMA

Top officials from a number of US drug makers such as Pfizer, Mylan, Merck recently met the DIPP secretary to lobby against use of compulsory licenses by India.

US pharma majors are putting pressure on the Govt. to stop issuing permits to domestic companies for making low priced copies of patented drugs.

Contd…

India has been facing huge protests from US after it issued the first compulsory license to Hyderabad based company, Natco for Bayer’s anti-cancer drug Nexaver.

Natco priced the copied version at Rs.8,800 for a months treatment to Bayer’s version priced at Rs 2.8 lakhs.

Indian Patent Office revoked Pfizer’s patent for anti-cancer drug Sutent.

Corporate lobbying in India: The extent of lobbying in India has also widespread.

Take the case of 2G spectrum which involved lobbyist Nira Radia to lobby against the re-appointment of Dayanidhi Maran to the post of Union IT and Communication Minister.

Contd…

Lobbyist, Nira Radia has lobbied prominent figures which includes Telecom big heads.

The Main cause for lobbying in this case is for undercharging mobile, telephone companies for frequent allocation issues, which they would then use to create 2G spectrum subscriptions for cell phones.

Benefits of lobbying

Tax Benefits. Improved Cash Flows: On average, and controlling

for other factors, firms that engaged in lobbying received more generous depreciation treatment.

Contd…

Increased Market Value: Another study demonstrates that firms which lobby significantly outperform non-lobbying firms with respect to increased market value of equity.  This can be as high as adding another 2% per year to return.

Conclusion. By better understanding the rules applicable to lobbying,

organizations working to improve the public’s health can maximize their effectiveness while minimizing the possibility of endangering their status.

In addition, organizations can be in a better position to appreciate the impact of any proposed new restrictions on their lobbying.

By effectively using the information available and developing a focused campaign there is still a lot of success to be had with public affairs for many organizations.

References.1. 1.Kotler P, Keller K L, Koshy A, Jha M.Marketing

Management, 13th ed. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley Pvt ltd; 2009.

2. Radia Controversy[INTERNET].[updated on 2013 Nov 13;cited on 2013 Nov 14]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radia_tapes_controversy

3.US Pharma firms lobby to protect patents in India[INTERNET].[Updated on 2013 Oct 23;cited on 2013 Nov 12]. Available from:

http://www.the%2520hindubusinessline.com%2Findustry-and-economy%2Fus-pharma-firms-lobby-to-protect-patents-in-india%2Farticle5265436.ece

Contd…

4. Merck lobbying States to mandate Gardasil for school girls.[INTERNET].2007 Jan 30;[cited on 2013 Nov 11]. Available from:

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/01/30/21605.aspx

5.Lobbying[INTERNET].[Updated on 2013 Oct 22;cited on 2013 Nov 8]. Available from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying