The One and Only...
Nov 8th, 2005, 04:35 PM
Source: http://www.sploid.com/news/2005/11/who_profits_fro.php
Who profits from bird flu hysteria? Donald Rumsfeld!
As Sploid reported on Oct. 24, Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld had an interesting job before George W. Bush put him back in the Pentagon in 2001: Rumsfeld was chairman of the pharmaceutical giant that patented ... Tamiflu!
Now, Fortune Magazine has revealed that Rummy holds a stake in Gilead Sciences worth up to $25 million, and that the current avian flu hysteria has already earned him a cool million dollars.
Today, as Rumsfeld gives a live "briefing" on CNN telling Americans to get used to the slaughter of U.S. troops in Iraq by the thousands and Bush launches his administration's plans for a full-scale American flu pandemic, there is exactly one patented and incredibly profitable drug that could possibly prevent or deflect full symptoms of a human-transmitted version of the Avian Flu, and Rumsfeld himself is getting richer with every hysterical prescription filled.
The Mafia and the Colombian drug cartels could only dream of such total control of supply and demand.
Roche produces Gilead's cash cow Tamiflu, and sales are through the roof:
Roche last week said it had temporarily suspended sales of Tamiflu in countries including the U.S., Canada, Germany and Switzerland to fill government contracts and ensure availability at the start of the traditional flu season. Roche said each country unit is deciding whether to take the action based on supply.
U.S. drug stores filled more than 221,000 prescriptions for Tamiflu during the 10 weeks ended Oct. 21, more than five times the year-earlier total of almost 41,000, according to data released Oct. 26 by Verispan LLC, a research company in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
But Rumsfeld isn't the only member of this GOP-pharmaceutical elite. Nixon-Reagan-Bush I-Bush Jr. insider George Shultz is on Gilead's board and "has sold more than $7 million worth of Gilead since the beginning of 2005." Former California Gov. Pete Wilson's wife is also on the board.
"I don't know of any biotech company that's so politically well-connected," says analyst Andrew McDonald of Think Equity Partners in San Francisco.
George W. Bush seems giddy at the prospect of turning Rumsfeld's armies loose on the American people should the bird flu suddenly turn into a human-transmitted disease.
The major goal of his Avian Flu Plan is to take away Americans' rights to sue pharmaceutical corporations for making dangerous or even deadly vaccines and medicines.
He's watching out for Rumsfeld and the rest of his super-rich pals, as well: The federal government will spend more than $7 billion on the purchase of Tamiflu and development of a vaccine for a sickness that does not actually exist today. A whole $1 billion is marked specifically for buying government stockpiles of Tamiflu.
Donald Rumsfeld's hands may be dripping with the blood of thousands of American heroes who died on his commands, but he's also the "luckiest" guy in Washington!
Who profits from bird flu hysteria? Donald Rumsfeld!
As Sploid reported on Oct. 24, Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld had an interesting job before George W. Bush put him back in the Pentagon in 2001: Rumsfeld was chairman of the pharmaceutical giant that patented ... Tamiflu!
Now, Fortune Magazine has revealed that Rummy holds a stake in Gilead Sciences worth up to $25 million, and that the current avian flu hysteria has already earned him a cool million dollars.
Today, as Rumsfeld gives a live "briefing" on CNN telling Americans to get used to the slaughter of U.S. troops in Iraq by the thousands and Bush launches his administration's plans for a full-scale American flu pandemic, there is exactly one patented and incredibly profitable drug that could possibly prevent or deflect full symptoms of a human-transmitted version of the Avian Flu, and Rumsfeld himself is getting richer with every hysterical prescription filled.
The Mafia and the Colombian drug cartels could only dream of such total control of supply and demand.
Roche produces Gilead's cash cow Tamiflu, and sales are through the roof:
Roche last week said it had temporarily suspended sales of Tamiflu in countries including the U.S., Canada, Germany and Switzerland to fill government contracts and ensure availability at the start of the traditional flu season. Roche said each country unit is deciding whether to take the action based on supply.
U.S. drug stores filled more than 221,000 prescriptions for Tamiflu during the 10 weeks ended Oct. 21, more than five times the year-earlier total of almost 41,000, according to data released Oct. 26 by Verispan LLC, a research company in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
But Rumsfeld isn't the only member of this GOP-pharmaceutical elite. Nixon-Reagan-Bush I-Bush Jr. insider George Shultz is on Gilead's board and "has sold more than $7 million worth of Gilead since the beginning of 2005." Former California Gov. Pete Wilson's wife is also on the board.
"I don't know of any biotech company that's so politically well-connected," says analyst Andrew McDonald of Think Equity Partners in San Francisco.
George W. Bush seems giddy at the prospect of turning Rumsfeld's armies loose on the American people should the bird flu suddenly turn into a human-transmitted disease.
The major goal of his Avian Flu Plan is to take away Americans' rights to sue pharmaceutical corporations for making dangerous or even deadly vaccines and medicines.
He's watching out for Rumsfeld and the rest of his super-rich pals, as well: The federal government will spend more than $7 billion on the purchase of Tamiflu and development of a vaccine for a sickness that does not actually exist today. A whole $1 billion is marked specifically for buying government stockpiles of Tamiflu.
Donald Rumsfeld's hands may be dripping with the blood of thousands of American heroes who died on his commands, but he's also the "luckiest" guy in Washington!