April 30, 2008 - 5:50 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Drug and medical device maker Abbott Laboratories spent $880,000 lobbying the federal government on health care issues in the first quarter.

Abbott lobbied Congress on a bill aimed at updating the U.S. patent system. High-tech companies support the bill that passed the House last year, saying it would cut down on frivolous patent-infringement lawsuits. But the pharmaceutical industry has argued it will weaken patent protections on drugs by reducing infringement penalties. The bill has stalled in the Senate.

Abbott and other biotech companies also lobbied on legislation to allow the Food and Drug Administration to approve generic copies of biotech drugs. Generic drug companies already market cheaper versions of regular, chemical drugs, but the FDA does not have the rule to approve copies of biotech drugs, which are more complicated.

Biotech makers opposed a bill that would have made generic biotechs medically interchangeable with the originals. Abbott and others argued generic biotechs should be classified as like, but not interchangeable.

They also want biotech medicines to be guaranteed at least 12 years on the market before having to compete with generic copies. Generic drug makers say any protection beyond five years is unreasonable.

The Abbott Park, Ill.-based company in like manner lobbied on funding for the FDA and implementation of the Medicare drug benefit.

Abbott disclosed its lobbying expenditures in a form filed April 21 with the Senate's public records office.