Edwards spends nearly $170K on government lobbying in Q1

Edwards Lifesciences, a developer of heart valves and cardiac medical devices, spent more than $167,000 lobbying the federal government in the first quarter of 2008, according to a government disclosure form, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

With the funds, the Irvine, Calif.-based company lobbied for increased FDA funding.

The AP said that Edwards also lobbied Congress on a bill aimed at updating the U.S. patent system. The pharmaceutical and medical device industries argued it would weaken patent protections on drugs by reducing infringement penalties. The bill is currently stalled in the Senate.

Additionally, Edwards lobbied on the rates the Medicare program pays for medical imaging procedures, according to the AP.

The government form also noted that company representatives also lobbied the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House, the AP said.

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