(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Never Trumper and 2024 presidential candidate Chris Christie has maintained connections to Big Pharma, despite his constant degradation of drug titans on the campaign trail.
Christie currently sits on the board of Pacira BioSciences, a company that manufactures alternatives to opioids, according to the Daily Caller.
Pacira BioSciences paid Christie handsomely for his lobbying services in 2018-2019, after reaching their goal of Medicare alterations to encourage consumers to buy their non-opioid painkiller treatments. The company shelled out $800,000 and $1 million in stock options for these services.
Christie joined the Pacira board in 2019.
“Governor Christie’s track record of unwavering commitment to combating our nation’s opioid crisis and his solid reputation as a seasoned government leader is unparalleled,” a statement from the company read. “He is distinguished for effecting bipartisan change within healthcare policy and legislation, and his insights should prove to be of immeasurable benefit to Pacira.”
He also worked with Novo Nordisk, lobbying for the international company via his consulting firm in 2020 and 2021.
Christie 55 Solutions, his consulting firm, received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Novo Nordisk over the course of two years. It is unclear what kind of assistance the pharmaceutical company requested of Christie’s firm.
Christie’s former chief of staff Rich Bagger now runs the consulting firm. Bagger previously worked as a pharmaceutical executive with Pfizer and Celgene.
Big Pharma thrived in New Jersey, where Christie got his start as Republican governor.
Despite his involvement in the industry Christie went after pharmaceutical managers and advertisements on the campaign trail.
“I don’t think we need to be advertising drugs,” Christie said. “We never did before, and everybody seemed to get the medicine they needed because the pharmaceutical companies went to the doctors, explained to the doctors what their medicines did, and then the doctors decided for you or me whether that would help my particular medical problem or yours.”
Christie polled at 3.1% in national primary polls. A survey by The Economist discovered that 54% of Republicans view Christie unfavorably and 27% saw him as a quality candidate.
