Pfizer - "astroturfing" against Medicare Part D reform

Ward Wetherell is used to receiving health tips about such topics as "good" cholesterol from Pfizer Inc. , the world's largest drug company.

This month , however, the glossy brochure Pfizer sent to Wetherell's home in Needham tackled a national policy issue days after a crucial House of Representatives vote to lower prescription drug prices.

Congress needs to hear that market forces, not the government, should control prices, said the "For Living " brochure, which included form letters addressed to Wetherell's representatives in Congress. "History reminds us that when the government interferes in a free market and controls prices, the results can be dangerous," it warned.

Pfizer and other drug makers facing fierce competition from cheaper generic drugs are aggressively protecting their business.

The drug industry has recorded windfall profits due to the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, according to IMS Health Inc. , a healthcare information company. Industry lobbyists have rallied in speeches, television spots, and full-page print advertising that defends Medicare's year-old prescription drug benefit as a success story that saves seniors $1,200 per year.

But by fostering a so-called "astroturf " movement -- an artificial grass-roots movement bankrolled by a corporation -- Pfizer's push-back breaks ground, according to a drug industry observer and a former drug industry sales representative.

Jack Cox , a Pfizer spokesman, declined to say how many fliers the company sent, how much the marketing effort cost, or whether it typically drafts form letters for consumers to send to Congress.

The package Pfizer sent to Wetherell included letters addressed to Representative Stephen Lynch and Senator Edward M. Kennedy , who represent the 72-year-old .

Unlike the brochure, the letters did not mention Pfizer, but were preprinted with Wetherell's name and address. All he had to do was initial, fold and pop the letters into pre-stamped envelopes. By doing so, Wetherell, a bypass survivor, could instantly become an unpaid Pfizer lobbyist.

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