Healthcare interests spent nearly $500 million last year to influence policy decisions in Washington. This story documented the healthcare lobbying universe that allows hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, insurers and other entities to get their voices heard inside the beltway. In particular, it documented how Gilead Sciences dramatically increased its lobbying activities when the pharmaceutical firm needed to get its blockbuster hepatitis C drug Sovaldi through regulatory hurdles and onto the market. Those efforts were rewarded when Sovaldi racked up $6 billion in sales during the first six months of 2014, making it the most successful drug launch in U.S. pharmaceutical industry history and a poster child for out-of-control pricing on specialty drugs.
