San Francisco

A TOP pharmaceutical lobbying group is launching an ad campaign to defend drugmakers that have been under fire for their pricing practices.

"We're under pressure and scrutiny like never before," said Jim Greenwood, chief executive officer of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). The campaign, called "Innovation Saves", says new drugs can save both lives and costs to the healthcare system. BIO is spending "low to mid-seven digits" on the ads, according to Mr Greenwood, or about US$1 million to US$5 million.