Regeneron Drugs Touting Backfires
Amid Accusations on Surge Incentive

Capitol Inside
August 23, 2021

Republican Governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis of Florida are facing a major backlash as a consequence of aggressive promotional efforts for a COVID-19 drug treatment cocktail that's made by a company in which a GOP megadonor is a major investor.

As Texas Democrats accused Abbott of being on the take on Monday with his frequent plugging of Regeneron monoclonal antibodies, DeSantis contended that the Associated Press was waging a smear campaign against him by implying that he'd been bought off with a report on ties between the pharmaecutical firm and Chicago hedge fund executive Ken Griffin.

The AP reported this past weekend that Griffin's firm has $16 million worth of Regeneron stock and has been DeSantis' number one contributor after giving more than $10 million to political action committees that are backing him. DeSantis expressed his grievances in a letter to Daisy Veerasingham, the incoming chief executive at the AP.

‘This story is a baseless conspiracy theory," DeSantis asserted. "While the public's trust in corporate outlets like the AP is at historic lows, there is no doubt that some will decline to seek life-saving treatment as a result of the AP's inflammatory headline. That the AP has received vigorous pushback is something that should be expected given the brazenness of your political attack and the fact that your false narrative will cost lives. You cannot recklessly smear your political opponents and then expect to be immune from criticism. This is especially true when the effect of your false narrative jeopardizes the ‘health of those who could otherwise benefit from treatment with monoclonal antibodies."

Veerasingham had fired off a letter to DeSantis last week with accusations about him bullying one of the wire service's reporters. DeSantis didn't challenge any of the facts in the report on his links to Regeneron through Griffin. DeSantis didn't dispute that Regeneron's stock has soared as a direct result of the repeated endorsements by the governors in Florida and Texas.

Griffin was the second leader contributor to Republican candidates and committees in 2020 behind Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Griffin became the GOP's largest living donor after Adelson died early this year.

While Abbott hasn't been a direct beneficiary of Griffin's largesse up to now, the Texas governor would want to have the Regeneron investor on his side if he runs for president in 2024.

Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Emergency Management on August 9 to initiate a rapid expansion of Regeneron monoclonal antibody infusion centers around the state. Abbott had an opportunity to sample the product when he tested positive for covid last week. After daily updates on the antibody treatments that he referred to by the brand name, Abbott failed to mention Regeneron this past weekend when he attributed a rapid recovery to the covid vaccine without revealing which one of the three that are available in the U.S. that he received.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa chastised Abbott tonight - implying that he's sought to ban mask and vaccine mandates in an attempt to boost the number of sick people who are potential patients at the injection centers.

"By banning mask mandates, Greg Abbott is actively encouraging the spread of the virus -- despite statewide outcry from concerned teachers, parents, and local leaders," Hinojosa declared. "The one thing he’s doing is promoting a treatment -- and the more people get sick and seek Regeneron, the more money shareholders can make.

“We know all too well that Greg Abbott is not above making money off the backs of suffering Texans," the TDP chair added. "Just last month, the bombshell news broke that Abbott accepted a million dollar donation in exchange for leaving our power grid exactly as rickety and vulnerable as it was in February -- helping his energy donors rake in the profits as Texans continue to suffer the consequences. And we know Texas Republicans have been lining their pockets off the pandemic from the getgo, with despicable Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw making investment choices based on his insider knowledge of the spring 2020 stimulus package. With Regeneron shareholders now literally making more money for every Texan who gets sick, the question now becomes, what’s in it for Abbott? Texans deserve to know.”

more to come ...