Johnson & Johnson and Schering-Plough to
Publicly Disclose All Political Contributions

Religious Investors Score Two Victories in Reform Effort as
Four Other Pharmas Face Shareholder Resolutions Demanding Transparency

NEW YORK, NY///April 7, 2005/// Responding to pressure from faith-based shareholders, Johnson & Johnson and Schering-Plough agreed that they will account for and publicly disclose on their websites an annual list of corporate political contributions.

The agreement allows members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) to withdraw shareholder resolutions requesting this reporting. ICCR has been pushing the pharmaceutical industry for greater transparency and accountability on campaign contributions. Similar resolutions will be voted upon at the upcoming annual shareholders' meetings of Merck & Co., Abbott Laboratories, Wyeth, and Eli Lilly.

"This is a tremendous step forward for financial accountability," says Margaret Weber of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, primary filer with Schering-Plough. "Companies need to be held accountable to their shareholders for their political activism, a critically important ideal for the pharmaceutical industry, an industry that has landed in the middle of some of the most heated public policy debates- access to AIDS drugs, prescription drug pricing, and the safety of cox-2 inhibitors, to name a few. Our hope is that the rest of the industry follows the lead of these two pioneers."

Johnson & Johnson agreed to:
· List all federal and state political contributions, including those made to public policy groups or "Section 527" organizations.
· Publish online its policy and rationale regarding corporate political contributions.
· Have the Board of Directors' Public Policy Committee (or another committee comprised of independent directors) annually review these policies and how they are applied.

Schering-Plough agreed to:
· List all federal and state political contributions, including those made to public policy groups or "Section 527" organizations.
· Detail how it determines its contributions.
· Detail how the Board of Directors oversees these expenditures.

Corporate political contributions have become a growing concern for investors, illustrated by the major spike in the number of resolutions demanding disclosure-more than 50 this year compared with just a handful in 2003, according to the independent Investor Responsibility Research Center. The resolutions were drafted by the Center for Political Accountability, a Washington-based non-partisan advocacy group working to bring transparency and accountability to corporate political giving.

"It is completely inappropriate to send shareholders on a scavenger hunt to discover how their companies seek to influence public policy," says Anna Burger, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The SEIU Master Trust is the primary filer with Johnson & Johnson. SEIU is an Associate Member of ICCR. "This is sensitive information that impacts companies' profitability and net worth. Johnson & Johnson and Schering-Plough should be commended for shining a light on these activities and leading the pharmaceutical industry."

The shareholder resolution at Abbott Laboratories is sponsored by the Mercy Investment Program; at Eli Lilly, by the Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of Detroit Charitable Trust; at Merck & Co. by the Nathan Cummings Foundation; and at Wyeth by the Camilla Madden Charitable Trust. The New York State Common Retirement Fund, the nation's second-largest public pension fund, has co-filed the resolution at Merck and Eli Lilly.

The first test of the resolution comes when shareholders of Eli Lilly vote on April 18. The other meetings include Wyeth on April 21, Abbot Laboratories on April 22, and Merck & Co. on April 26.

CONTACT: Dan Klotz, 917-438-4613/347-307-2866
or Marie Ewald, 212-764-3878, x224/917-538-0916