With the departure of their top lobbyist Billy Tauzin, drug makers are looking to retain the concessions he negotiated from Democrats while signaling to Republicans that the industry is heading back to its conservative roots, the Wall Street Journal reports. Tauzin announced that he is stepping down as president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry's main lobby in Washington. He had faced criticism from some in the drug industry as well as other business groups and Republican leaders for the alliance he made with the White House last year to support health-overhaul legislation, the Journal reports.
