The Cost of Capture: How the Pharmaceutical Industry Has Corrupted Policymakers and Harmed Patients
May 22, 2019
By Julie Margetta Morgan, Devin Duffy
In “The Cost of Capture: How the Pharmaceutical Industry Has Corrupted Policymakers and Harmed Patients,” Roosevelt Fellow Julie Margetta Morgan and Advocacy Associate Devin Duffy explore how drug companies influence policymakers and what this means for patients, the American health care system, and our economy. One of a series on Big Pharma, this issue brief defines “corporate capture,” or a form of corruption in which industry exerts undue influence over policymakers in regulatory and legislative bodies, often at the expense of the public interest or in contravention of democratic will.
Ultimately, Margetta Morgan and Duffy show that though capture may be deeply entrenched in our economy and democracy, it is neither inevitable nor insurmountable. With enough organization, energy, and advocacy, the American people can reclaim their political system and demand that policymakers represent the interests of patients and public health over profits.