NEW YORK (AP) – Johnson & Johnson, the maker of health products from baby shampoo to birth control pills, spent $2.4 million in the third quarter to lobby on legislation affecting its medicines, medical devices and other business interests.

The company’s lobbying budget for the period increased over 40 percent from $1.7 million in the third quarter of 2009, and was more than double the $1.15 million it spent in the second quarter of 2010.

The company lobbied on a range of bills that would impact its medical products, including:

– Legislation to tighten regulation of dextromethorphan, a cough-suppressing drug found in several Tylenol formulas

– Legislation that would make it easier for patients who have been injured by medical devices to sue the manufacturer

– Legislation to increase inspections of foreign drug and device manufacturing plants.

The company also lobbied on patent reform legislation, on multiple tax issues and on legislation to tighten regulation of certain complex financial investments, such as ones to protect against unfavorable swings in currency exchange rates. Those can be a big problem for companies like J&J that generate much of their revenue from international sales.

The world’s biggest maker of health care products lobbied to eliminate some price discounts it now must give on prescription medicines paid for by Medicare, according to the disclosure form filed Oct. 20 with the House clerk’s office. It lobbied on multiple bills related to regulations for lawsuits, including ones concerning sealing of information in civil lawsuits. That’s an issue because drugmakers often are sued by patients alleging their products caused harm, and the companies try to keep details of such cases secret.

The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company, which uses solar power and other clean energy in many of its facilities around the world, also lobbied in support of funding for water pollution control programs and creating clean energy jobs.

Date: January 4, 2011
Source: Associated Press