Drug Firms Issue Memos on Michael Moore

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Some pharmaceutical companies are telling their employees to look out for the scruffy guy in the baseball cap. <br/><br/>The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that at least six drug

Monday, December 27th 2004, 10:36 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Some pharmaceutical companies are telling their employees to look out for the scruffy guy in the baseball cap.

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that at least six drug companies have released internal communications telling employees to be wary of filmmaker Michael Moore.

Moore's targets have included General Motors (``Roger & Me''), the gun lobby (the Oscar-winning ``Bowling for Columbine'') and President Bush (``Fahrenheit 9/11'').

Moore, normally seen sporting a beard and a ball cap, has now set his sights on the health care industry, including insurance companies, HMOs, the Food and Drug Administration and drug companies.

``We ran a story in our online newspaper saying Moore is embarking on a documentary and if you see a scruffy guy in a baseball cap, you'll know who it is,'' said Stephen Lederer, a spokesman for Pfizer Global Research and Development.

In September and October, Wyeth, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, the second-largest in retail sales, sent out Moore alerts, instructing employees that questions posed by the media or filmmakers should be handled by corporate communications.

Heavyweights Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals and Synthelabo sent similar memos before their recent merger.