Pfizer's Lobby Spend Nearly Doubled Merck's -- In First Half Of 2016: $7.77 Million...

Just as we intoned a few days ago, there is still "embedded" in the huge 2016 first half spend by Pfizer, all that money it had to write off, lobbying to skirt the two-year old Treasury regulations -- on inversions, during Q1 2016 -- when it had to abandon its $159 billion Allergan re-domicile deal. [That the deal was always going to end up DOA was obvious to most savvy financial people -- at least to those not trapped in the Pfizer echo-chamber.] What an ignomious waste of shareholders' money, that was. It was clear over a 18 months ago, that the regulatory landscape had changed -- after Mr. Read's first failed inversion (at $120 billion, for AZ) went down in flames. Between the two failed deals, Mr. Read likely spent over $600 million -- when one includes all the broken deal fees to bankers and counter-parties, and legal, lobbying, tax and accounting expenses.

Okay -- to the specifics, then: Pfizer spent $3.57 million in Q2 2016 (compared to $2.45 million in Q2 2015). And that in turn, compares to its $4.2 million in Q1 2016. Down only 12 per cent, compared to Merck's cutting lobby-spend in half, in the same time frames.

In any event, I would hope that Mr. Read's lobby spend decreases more significantly in Q3 2016 -- to become more closely proportional to Pfizer's size relative to Merck's -- as it is clearly a tumor, at this point in the year. With very little happening in the way of actual legislation, until the new President is elected, the whole operation ought to be essentially moth-balled, until January 2017. But that's just my $0.02 -- for Pfizer's institutional investors, to communicate/advocate with Mr. Read. Here's some of what he spent on, in Q2 2016 -- I've bolded the bits that Merck likely also spent on (albeit much smaller sums):

. . . .Trans Pacific Partnership Negotiations, Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB), Trans-Atlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP,) Canada IP/Trade Issues, South Africa IP Issues, China IP, Saudia Arabia Pricing Issues, United Nations Health Panel [likely along with Merck], Thermacare EU, Privacy Shield, G7/G20, APEC, OECD. . . .

21st Century Cures Initiative, Senate Innovation Project, Drug Pricing, Biosimilars Reimbursement Policy. . . .

Patent Troll Legislation, Defend Trade Secrets Act, Medicare Rebates/Medicare Part D, Non-Interference, Medicare Part B Reimbursement, Medicare Part B CMMI Demo. . . .

Deferral, Comprehensive Tax Reform, Territorial Systems, Patent Innovation Box, Cadillac Tax, Inversions, Section 385 Proposed Regulations. . . .

Omnibus Appropriations Bill, LHHA Appropriations, 2017 FDA & Labor/HHS Appropriation Bills. . . .

Now you know -- off to mountain-bike, a workout, and then a longish swim in the cool clear lake waters, then lie on the white sandy beaches, here. . . smile. I love summer Saturdays. . .