GOP or Dem? Some pharma donors don't hedge their bets

It's the endgame for 2012 election candidates--and for supporters that have shelled out cash to support their bids for votes. As usual, the pharma business is right there in the fray, with political action committees and employees donating hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

As the Pharma Marketing Blog reports, industry giving has tipped farther toward the Republican side this year, with 58% of individual and PAC contributions earmarked for GOP candidates. In 2008, the margin was much smaller: Some 51% of pharma-related donations went to Republicans.

But we wanted to know which companies lean in which direction. Luckily, the Center for Responsive Politics has already done the math. Many drugmakers' PACs and employees spread the wealth around. Pfizer ($PFE) is split 52-47 in favor of the Dems, while GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) is 49-50 in the GOP's favor. Novartis ($NVS) and Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY) are both fairily evenly split, with Novartis at 52% Republican and Bristol 53% Democrat.

Some companies' related donations aren't even close. Perrigo ($PRGO), the over-the-counter store-brand company, for instance. Almost all Perrigo-related donations went to Republicans--96%. Allergan ($AGN), best known for the wrinkle- and muscle-relaxant Botox, split two-thirds to one-third in favor of the GOP. Japan's Daiichi Sankyo and Germany's Bayer went for Republicans more than two-thirds of the time--70% and 69%, respectively.

It should be noted that these numbers comprise employee contributions, PAC donations and soft money only. The companies themselves may or may not have contributed to candidates.

- see the Center for Responsive Politics chart
- more from Pharma Marketing Blog

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