Six leading drugmakers sent a letter August 8 to U.S. accounting-rule lawmakers objecting to a proposed rule that would require companies to disclose estimate costs of all continuing litigation, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Pfizer Inc, Merck & Co Inc, Eli Lilly & Co, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG and Wyeth state that  providing such an estimate would be futile, costly and unlikely to provide meaningful information for investors.

The drugmakers want the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the agency that sets U.S. accounting rules, to withdraw the proposed rule, the Journal said.

In the letter, drug companies said estimating the costs of continuing litigation was "highly subjective, subject to huge swings as underlying assumptions change, and unlikely to provide financial statement users with meaningful or reliable information."

The FASB had, in June, issued the proposed rule, which if approved, would be effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2008 and interim and annual periods in subsequent fiscal years.

For details: Pharmalot link