The Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed has just awarded $2.1 billion — a record amount of taxpayer money — to Sanofi and GSK, pharmaceutical companies working to develop a coronavirus vaccine. The head of Operation Warp Speed, Moncef Slaoui, holds $10 million of shares in GSK. Lower Drug Prices Now has filed an ethics complaint for how the Trump Administration has used a loophole to exempt Slaoui from disclosure rules.
Politico – 7/31/20
Executives with pharma ties are exempt from disclosing conflicts.
The Trump administration is hiring consultants with drug industry ties to steer its effort to find a coronavirus vaccine under a contract that allows them to avoid disclosing potential conflicts of interest.
Quad City Times – 7/30/20
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Theresa Greenfield, in a virtual town hall Thursday, promised to support Medicare and the Affordable Care Act.
The U.S. Voter Series: Medicare Anniversary Town Hall included Greenfield; moderator Kay Pence, vice president of the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans; and at least 14 other attendees in a remote session.
On Sunday, Reuters reported that Operation Warp Speed candidate Moderna received an additional $472 million in funding from BARDA to develop its potential COVID vaccine. Following the announcement, Moderna saw shares increase 11.3% in premarket trading on Monday. US taxpayers total funding for the experimental vaccine of Moderna is now $955 million.
These Executive Orders are not about policy, they’re about politics. The only reason for President Trump’s rekindled interest in lowering drug prices is his dwindling poll numbers, and realization that our country’s senior citizens are abandoning him thanks to his bungled handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Washington Post – 7/24/20
One advocacy group pushing lower drug prices panned the orders as an empty political gesture shortly after Trump’s signing ceremony.
“These Executive Orders are not about policy, they’re about politics,” said Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now. “The only reason for President Trump’s rekindled interest in lowering drug prices is his dwindling poll numbers, and realization that our country’s senior citizens are abandoning him thanks to his bungled handling of the coronavirus crisis.”
Statement from Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now, on news that U.S. will pay $2 billion for Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine doses.
