People are wondering if the president’s business has a financial interest in companies that produce Hydroxychloroquine since he’s selling it like it’s a Trump University seminar. I’m skeptical, to be honest. I think he’s much more motivated to push it because he is desperate for a way out of the mess he’s made and he’s literally looking for a miracle vaccine/cure for which he can take credit. He’s listening to the great medical experts, Dr. Oz, Dr. Laura Ingraham, Dr. Rudy Giuliani, and Dr. Peter Navarro and others who have convinced him that this is his way out.
But there are some interesting connections between the Hydroxychloroquine pushers, big Republican donors and Big Pharma. Surprise!
Donald Shaw at Sludge reports:
On March 26, Job Creators Network, a conservative dark money nonprofit, launched a petition, a series of Facebook ads, and a blast text message campaign calling on Trump to “cut the red tape” and immediately make hydroxychloroquine available to treat patients.
“There is clear and ever-mounting evidence that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine can significantly help patients who contract coronavirus,” the petition states, despite the lack of rigorous clinical testing.
Some small clinical studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine may help to speed recovery from the coronavirus, while other small studies have found that the drug does not appear to help patients clear the virus. A much larger trial of 2,000 patients is currently being conducted by researchers at New York University, and results are expected in about eight weeks. The drug is currently being used in some hospitals and some anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness has been observed.
The Job Creators Network was founded in 2011 by billionaire Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, a major GOP donor who spent more than $7 million through outside groups to help elect Trump in 2016. Marcus has said that he plans to spend part of his fortune to help re-elect Trump in 2020.
Job Creators Network has been funded by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a drug industry trade that counts among its members leading hydroxychloroquine makers Novartis, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Bayer. According to tax documents, PhRMA donated $500,000 to Job Creators Network in 2017.
Novartis, Teva, and Bayer have all committed to providing millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine for clinical testing, and the companies potentially stand to profit if the drug becomes adopted as a common coronavirus treatment.
Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan has said his company is searching for additional active ingredients in order to produce more hydroxychloroquine if it is needed.
Job Creator Network’s hydroxychloroquine campaign has been run in partnership with a nonprofit called Physicians for Reform, which works with FreedomWorks to promote deregulatory health care policies. FreedomWorks, a conservative advocacy group that was founded by the Koch brothers, also receives money from PhRMA. According to tax documents PhRMA gave $100,000 to Freedomworks in 2018.
When this is all over we are going to find that the profiteering from the crisis was unprecedented.
It’s possible that Trump is getting a taste for himself. It’s almost certain that Giuliani is. But regardless, I’m still convinced this is Trump’s Hail Mary.