Anti-Trump Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie is closely tied to the pharmaceutical industry he has repeatedly criticized on the campaign trail.
Christie’s connections to large pharmaceutical companies are reflected in his current board seat with Pacira BioSciences — a manufacturer of opioid alternatives — and in his previous lobbying work for multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk through his consulting firm in 2020 and 2021.
Christie’s consulting firm, Christie 55 Solutions, received $40,000 from Novo Nordisk in 2021 and $120,000 in 2020, according to nonpartisan watchdog group Open Secrets. Christie’s firm made $1.3 million from nine clients in 2020 and $180,000 from six clients the following year, according to Open Secrets. Christie 55 is run by longtime Christie aide and former chief of staff Rich Bagger, who spent 25 years as a pharmaceutical executive with Pfizer and Celgene, his official bio says. (RELATED: ‘Corrupt And Rigged’: GOP Presidential Longshots Threaten ‘Legal Action’ Against RNC For Excluding Them From Debate)
Pacira BioSciences paid Christie $800,000 in 2018 and 2019 as it lobbied for Medicare rates to be altered to promote its non-opioid painkiller treatments, Politico reported based on regulatory filings. Christie also received Pacira stock options worth more than $1 million as part of the contract.
Christie chaired former President Donald Trump’s bipartisan commission on opioids and addiction in 2017, when the commission recommended regulatory changes in line with Pacira’s demands, according to Politico. Pacira did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – AUGUST 18: Former New Jersey Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie greets people during a campaign stop at the Versailles Restaurant on August 18, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“We are honored to welcome Governor Christie to the Pacira board of directors,” Pacira CEO Dave Stack said in a September 2019 press release announcing Christie’s board seat. “Governor Christie’s track record of unwavering commitment to combatting our nation’s opioid crisis and his solid reputation as a seasoned government leader is unparalleled. He is distinguished for effecting bipartisan change within healthcare policy and legislation, and his insights should prove to be of immeasurable benefit to Pacira.”
The pharmaceutical industry is one of the largest in New Jersey, the state where Christie rose to prominence as a two-term Republican governor. Pharmaceuticals and life sciences employ 2.4% of New Jersey’s workers and paid 6% of the state’s total wages, according to a November 2021 state handout listing New Jersey’s key sectors.
Nonetheless, Christie went after pharmaceutical advertisements and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) at a June campaign town hall in New Hampshire, where he also announced his 2024 presidential campaign.
“I don’t think we need to be advertising drugs,” Christie said at the event. “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.”
“The voters saw firsthand at the town hall Governor Christie call out the impacts of advertising within the pharmaceutical industry,” a campaign spokesman told the Daily Caller. “No matter what the topic, Christie is never shy about telling the truth, and voters will continue to see that throughout this campaign.”
MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE – JUNE 06: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at a town-hall-style event at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College on June 06, 2023 in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The Republican presidential candidate also criticized pharmaceutical advertisements and PBMs in an Aug. 1 interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” morning show.
“Well, how about if the politicians really dealt with what are the cost drivers in this system? Right,” Christie told CNBC. “You do not hear any politician come on this here and talk about the PBMs, the pharmacy benefit managers. They are taking from anywhere from 50% to 70% of the rebates that pharmaceutical companies mean to go to the customer and they’re taking them purely to be middlemen. It’s not sexy.”
“Look, Becky, they’re not they’re not without fault, okay? But I got to tell you the truth. I don’t need another pharmaceutical television commercial. No offense to the ways you guys make money, but someone will buy those TV ads,” he added.
The pharmaceutical industry’s lobbying arm, PhRMA, launched an advertisement campaign in early May 2023 against PBMs, accusing them of being middle men responsible for high drug prices. PhRMA has advocated for changes in state laws to ensure PBMs act in the financial interests of their clients. Prior to his presidential campaign, Christie wrote multiple op-eds calling for state action against PBMs in order to lower drug prices.
The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), the lobbying arm of PBMs, launched an advertisement campaign in late May in which PCMA blamed the pharmaceutical industry for increases in the cost of prescription drugs.
A poll conducted in July by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) showed 89% of Republicans believe profits made by pharmaceutical companies contribute to prescription drug prices. KFF used a nationally representative sample of 1,327 American adults with a +/- 3% margin of error.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 04: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (2nd L) speaks to members of the media as attorney Ted Olson (L) looks on in front of the U.S. Supreme Court December 4, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Christie will be participating in the first Republican presidential debate Wednesday night alongside businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced Monday. (RELATED: Biden Campaign Refuses To Commit To Debate With Trump)
Ramaswamy has made an estimated $260 million from pharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences, which he founded in 2014 and ran until stepping down as Roivant CEO in 2021, Forbes Magazine reported. Haley sits on the boards of real estate company United Homes Group and construction company Great Southern Homes, according to The Wall Street Journal. She previously sat on Boeing’s board following her stint as the Trump administration’s United Nations Ambassador from January 2017 to December 2018.
Christie is polling at 14% in New Hampshire and he is averaging 3.1% in national Republican presidential primary polls, the RealClearPolitics (RCP) polling average measured. An August survey by YouGov and The Economist found 27% of Republicans view Christie favorably and 54% have an unfavorable view of Christie, with 19% unsure.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 22: The Fiserv Forum is prepared for the Republican presidential debate on August 22, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The former New Jersey governor has repeatedly criticized Trump and spoken in favor of additional U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia. Christie’s campaign Super PAC, Tell It Like It Is, has raised nearly $6 million since his June campaign launch, its July Federal Election Commission (FEC) disclosure form shows. Christie’s campaign itself raised more than $1.6 million during the same time period, according to its July separate FEC disclosure.
Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, will be skipping the upcoming debate. Trump’s interview with Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson is expected to air Wednesday night.
Christie previously ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and famously sparred with Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio over the senator’s rehearsed responses to debate questions. Christie endorsed Donald Trump in February 2016 after dropping out of the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
Christie finished his second term with 15% approval in a June 2017 Quinnipiac poll, the lowest in New Jersey history, primarily because of the “Bridgegate” lane closure scandal beginning in summer 2013. His approval ratings in New Jersey reached nearly 70% in November 2012 because of his handling of Hurricane Sandy.