Ever wonder why drug prices seem to keep going up and up? It might be that the drug companies' budgets for lobbying are also going up and up.

According to an investigation done by the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), pharmaceutical, medical device, and other health product manufacturers spent more than $189 million on lobbying in 2007. This represented a phenomenal 32 percent jump over 2006.

CPI's report, Pushing Prescriptions: How the Drug Industry Sells Its Agenda at Your Expense, finds that all the lobbying and contributions to campaigns has resulted in a quicker drug approval process, delayed entry of lower cost generic drugs to the market, more direct-to-consumer drug company advertising, and a serious conflict of interest by "making the FDA dependent on the industry it regulates for budgetary resources."

Among the top pharmaceutical lobby spenders in 2007 are several companies making thyroid drugs, including:

• Abbott Laboratories, manufacturer of Synthroid, which spent $4.6 million in lobbying, not including its contributions to the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, the official lobbying organization for the drug makers.
• Genzyme, manufacturer of Thyrogen, which spent $2.7 million
• Teva Pharmaceuticals, which manufacturers a generic levothyroxine, and spent $2.3 million

Read the full report: Pushing Prescriptions: How the Drug Industry Sells Its Agenda at Your Expense

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