The Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America deployed targeted search advertising across hundreds of thousands of terms to reach consumers researching coverage and medical costs. The lobbying effort directed millions of visitors to pages assigning blame for high drug prices to pharmacy benefit managers. Spending notably surged during major political milestones, such as the rollout of Medicare drug price negotiations in 2023.
Key points
The pharmaceutical lobbying group spent $28 million steering search traffic to web pages…: The pharmaceutical lobbying group spent $28 million steering search traffic to web pages that criticized pharmacy benefit managers.
Search advertising outlays increased significantly alongside major regulatory shifts, inc…: Search advertising outlays increased significantly alongside major regulatory shifts, including Medicare drug price negotiations in 2023.
Findings published in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics demonstrate an extensive effor…: Findings published in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics demonstrate an extensive effort to influence consumer views on prescription medicine expenses.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
The lobbying group for the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spent an estimated $59 million on search advertising over a recent seven-year period to influence how Americans view the highly charged issue of prescription drug costs, according to a new analysis that used data to model the spending.
Of that, the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America spent roughly $32 million on ads linked to insurance and health plan searches, while $28 million was spent directing people to its web pages and domains criticizing pharmacy benefit managers, which drugmakers argue are the true culprits behind the rising prices for many medicines.
Spending also surged around well-publicized legislative and regulatory actions, such as when Medicare began drug price negotiations in 2023. In all, PhRMA used more than 283,500 distinct keywords to generate 17.1 million paid visits from 2019 through 2025, according to an analysis published in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
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