Washington, D.C. – Nobody likes a hypocrite. As the costs of prescriptions continue to rise, Minnesota’s Senator Tina Smith may say she wants to help lower the cost of drugs, but don’t forget her bank account tells a different story.
As was reported last year:
“Before the Minnesota freshman started lecturing the pharmaceutical industry, she was drawing dividends from her investments in them. According to Senate financial disclosures, the senator and her husband, Archie Smith, own between $250,000 and $500,000 in Abbott Laboratories. At the beginning of 2018, the two reported between $5,000 and $15,000 in income from their shares.
“Pharmaceutical companies often bristle at the prospect of increased transparency. Perhaps none more so than Abbott Laboratories. The company made a bucket of cash marketing the powerful opioid OxyContin. Purdue Pharmaceutical manufactured the drug and Abbott pushed the pills. A deep dive by Stat magazine in 2016 revealed that it was Abbott who was behind ‘the bold ‘crusade’ to make OxyContin a blockbuster.’ By all accounts, they succeeded.”
“Tina Smith and her husband have profited substantially from their investments in one of big pharma’s opiod pushers,” said NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez. “Her efforts to trick constituents into thinking she’s fighting for them while she has profited off the companies driving up prescription drug costs is disgusting.”