Wyeth Spent $876K In 1Q Lobbying On Health Issues

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wyeth, which makes the popular antidepressant Effexor and the blockbuster children's vaccine Prevnar, spent $876,339 in the first quarter lobbying on health care reform and dozens of other issues, according to a recent disclosure form.

That was about 26 percent more than the company spent on lobbying in the first quarter of 2008.

Madison, N.J.-based Wyeth lobbied on several aspects of health care reform, including bills that could limit the prices the government pays for medications, as well as public disclosure of drugmaker payments to doctors. It lobbied on drug advertising rules and legislation to modernize the Food and Drug Administration.

The company lobbied on pre-emption, the Bush-era argument that approval of a product — in this case a medication or device approved by the FDA — barred users from suing the maker for any defects or harm they suffered. In a closely watched case, the U.S. Supreme Court in March upheld a $6.7 million jury award to a Vermont professional musician who lost her arm to gangrene following an injection of a Wyeth anti-nausea drug, Phenergan.

Wyeth also lobbied on bills affecting funding involving some of its key drugs, including childhood vaccines and hormone replacement medicines, which include its popular Premarin and Prempro. The maker of Centrum vitamins also lobbied on dietary supplement issues.