STAT+: Drugmakers are losing crucial friends on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Menendez is the poster child for a pharmaceutical industry ally.

He represents the industry stronghold of New Jersey, home to giants like Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Bristol Myers Squibb, and he’s raked in campaign cash from pharma execs and political action committees. In negotiations over drug pricing legislation, he opposed progressives’ most aggressive plans.

The industry is likely to lose a friend if Menendez doesn’t return to Congress next year. He’s on trial for bribery charges, and pursuing a long-shot third-party bid to keep his seat. The Democrat vying to replace him, Rep. Andy Kim, has refused corporate PAC funds, and is a true believer in Democrats’ more ambitious drug pricing plans.

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