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Pharma Companies Participating in TrumpRx Spent $130M on Lobbying in 2025
Seventeen companies anchoring the White House's new prescription drug-pricing program spent more than $130 million on federal lobbying in 2025, accounting for over a quarter of industry record spending. The surge coincided with development of TrumpRx, launched in February 2026. Separately, Eli Lilly halted its obesity awareness campaign in India after a regulatory advisory.
May 12, 9:25 AM·1m read1 source
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The 17 pharmaceutical companies anchoring TrumpRx, the White House’s new prescription drug-pricing program launched in February 2026, spent more than $130 million on federal lobbying in 2025. That outlay represented a nearly 23 percent surge that outpaced the broader industry as the plan was being shaped behind the scenes, according to Stat reported.
3 million spent on lobbying across the pharmaceutical and health products industry that year.
3 million. The most consequential lobbying push by the 17 companies came in 2025, ahead of TrumpRx’s February launch. 7 percent increase compared with Q1 2025.
In a separate development, Eli Lilly paused its obesity awareness campaign in India after the nation’s drugs regulator warned the company that the effort could violate rules against advertising prescription medicines to consumers even indirectly. The Drugs Controller General of India issued an advisory in March 2026 regarding the campaign.
” Eli Lilly launched its “We Know Now” campaign in mid-2025, shortly after introducing its Mounjaro diabetes and obesity treatment in India.
The campaign focused on reframing obesity as a chronic disease rather than a personal failing. Its materials featured newspaper ads, social media posts, billboards, collaborations with Bollywood celebrities, and posters in a few residential communities. Eli Lilly’s corporate logo appeared on the “We Know Now” campaign messages, but Mounjaro was not mentioned.
