Whitepaper. The relationship between pharmaceutical stock trends and policy making for COVID-19 handling: correlations and causality that comprises integrity and effective treatment

Published 15 June, 2020; Updated 6 June, 2020, 18 June, 2020

Whitepaper. The relationship between pharmaceutical stock trends and policy making for COVID-19 handling: correlations and causality that comprises integrity and effective treatment 

To: The Office of Inspector General (OIG), Department of Homeland Security; 

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Problem 

What is the correlation between individuals of Operation Warp Speed, sponsored COVID-19 policies, and their stock holdings in vaccine development companies pursuing treatment for COVID-19? How is integrity compromised by these individuals representing their respected federal agencies and the American People?

Purpose

To examine the trend of pharmaceutical stocks and their correlation to public policy, particularly in the handling of COVID-19, we must assess potential conflicts of interest for profiteering by participating actors (each individual representative of a federal agency in Operation Warp Speed; COVID-19 Bill Sponsors; and the parent organization/s who currently fund all pharmaceutical companies in their pursuit and development of a COVID-19 Vaccine.

We will also discuss the antagonization of Hydroxychloroquine by federal officials within Operation Warp Speed and the media in the last three months which has shaped public opinion and driven policy.

Hypothesis

If Hydroxychloroquine is understood to treat ‘cytokine storms’, an immunocompromised response, within severe cases of COVID-19 (the cases that require medical examination and treatment,) then we must ask why is the United States’ Operation Warp Speed brushing aside this treatment for a vaccination that will undoubtedly result in neurological, genetic damages, and in some cases, death?

If government officials (WHO, BARDA, CDC, FDA) are advocates for a COVID-19 vaccination treatment because they are shareholders or own stock in specific pharmaceutical companies listed below, then it presents a criminal conflict of interest for profiteering, posing a threat to the American people by politicizing options and preferring the untested method of treatment over pursuit of continued clinical studies of an existing therapeutic such as hydroxychloroquine (or UV Irradiation treatment for that matter), which has proven to have real, beneficial results in the treatment of COVID-19. 

If this hypothesis is correct, than legal measures for breaking antitrust law must be extended to the highest extent of the law.

Observation

Exponential demand and acceleration of Technology and Pharma as exhibited in current stock market trends.

Argus Research Company analyzed recent activities, portfolio accomplishments, current objectives, and trends for the futures of the following companies:

Merck

Johnson & Johnson

Bio-techne

Danaher

Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.

Regeneron Pharma, Inc

Incyte Corp.

AstraZeneca PLC

Sanofi SA

Novartis Inc.

GlaxoSmithKline

Moderna was not discussed during the presentation: “Healthcare Sector Takes On COVID-19.”

Ethics

The futures of these companies (with the exception of Sanofi SA which is experiencing an overhaul) are predicted to rise with large margins in 2020 and 2021 based on the current demand for a vaccination, as well as the expectation of passing specific bills (HR6666 and HR6351), introduced to the House in March and April 2020, respectively. 

These policies are found to be unconstitutional and unprecedented, infringing on The People’s First Amendment Right to reject vaccinations and other test/trace/track based on religious freedom and/or other personal concerns.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the department’s Core Values which are being tested are:

Integrity / "Service Before Self"

“Each of us serves something far greater than ourselves.  To our nation, we represent the President and the Congress.  To the world, seeking to visit or do business with us, we are often the first Americans they meet.  We will faithfully execute the duties and responsibilities entrusted to us, and we will maintain the highest ethical and professional standards.”

Vigilance / "Guarding America"

“We will relentlessly identify and deter threats that pose a danger to the safety of the American people.  As a Department, we will be constantly on guard against threats, hazards, or dangers that threaten our values and our way of life.”

Thus, it is imperative to understand the significance of why Sanofi SA has overhauled their funded research of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment of COVID-19 in order to better assess the situation at hand.

Background 

Operation Warp Speed, an interagency initiative that is federally invested in the production of a vaccination to treat COVID-19 was announced on 15 May, 2020. Federal and personal investments by constituents in “the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA); the Department of Defense; private firms; and other federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Veterans Affairs,” requiring investigation into their personal stock market buys. Understanding that information provides a clear picture of any potential conflicts of interest. Such results would require a swift response of legal action to prevent this country’s caretakers from selling out the American People and the future of this country for ‘futures’ they are monetarily invested in. 

Argument 

Hydroxychloroquine has been observed to help patients who experience ‘cytokine storms’ (the deadliest response by the body as experienced in the very rare critical cases of COVID-19), Andreas Voss, President of Elsevier who originally published a French study that proved its effectiveness for further study, was pulled from International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents on the claim that it was "seriously flawed."

Dr. Kevin Tracey, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York City and Art Caplan, head of the division of medical ethics at the New York University School of Medicine, have both outspokenly discredited the French study which has since been pulled.

However, we have learned within the last month that Journals are primarily responsible for "cherry picking" studies or even changing studies due to undisclosed conflicts of interests.

A 2015 study shows, “Live vaccines, however, are contraindicated for people who are severely immunocompromised since their weakened immune systems may result in the live vaccine causing illness” This finding poses a grave risk for COVID-19 patients who need urgent treatment due experience cytokine storms, while on the other hand, evidence shows that hydroxychloroquine, which requires further study, has had effective results in patients suffering from this particular physiological and immunological response.

“Vaccine hesitancy”, I argue, is a growing issue for the BMGF, particularly their role in partnerships with the WHO, CDC, and other pharmaceutical companies whose mission is to produce a vaccine to quell infection. 

It is required that these organizations and companies who deal with public health uphold their hippocratic oath, and protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Both oaths run the risk of becoming compromised when profiteering becomes the underlying goal of such organizations who also lobby for public policy. 

Thus, in order to not infringe on an individual's First Amendment Rights, nor to breach antitrust law, studies and clinical trials for alternatives are necessary and required by law as ‘options’ for the U.S. citizen who chooses to exercise their First Amendment Right.

On 19 May, 2020, Dr. Sean Conley, physician to President Trump and US Navy officer, stated: "After numerous discussions he and I had regarding the evidence for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine, we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks."

This announcement was exploited by the media who challenged the physician to the President’s medical decision to prescribe hydroxychloroquine, which resulted in the equivocal push to stop hydroxychloroquine as a means to treat COVID-19.

The following day, leader of Operation Warp Speed, Moncef Slaoui, who had once been a board member of the US-based vaccination development company, Moderna, had “divested his shares in Moderna stock, at a potential personal gain of $10 million, raising questions of his neutrality in judging vaccine candidates…”

In an observation made by MedCity News,

“Although Slaoui resigned from the Moderna board when named to head Warp Speed, his share value in Moderna stock increased by $3 million in one day when Moderna announced an advance in vaccine clinical research.

Moncef Slaoui – who was named last week as head of the administration’s Operation Warp Speed effort to rapidly develop Covid-19 vaccines – would divest his stock options in Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna, worth more than $10 million. Slaoui’s 156,000 options in Moderna reportedly increased in value by at least $3 million following the company’s announcement Monday of preliminary data from the Phase I study of mRNA-1273, its vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Slaoui resigned from Moderna’s board of directors following his appointment to lead Operation Warp Speed.”

This conflict of interest is just the first of many that tie shareholders, Federal employees, and their affiliates to the pharmaceutical companies named above whose mission is to produce a vaccine. This ‘facade for competition,’ I argue, is the basis for what appears to be substantial evidence of antitrust activities, objectives, and pursuits headed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Philanthropic Foundation and/or Trust which has invested to open at least seven vaccine development factories. The names of the vaccination development companies has not been made public.

Furthermore, Operation Warp Speed has declared that it will not partner with Chinese-based vaccination labs, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or the European Commission.

Although Hydroxychloroquine is found to be the “underdog” for treatment, it was touted by President Trump which presented a challenge to the ‘coalition of vaccine advocates.’ 

The controlled narrative of Richard Bright’s “whistleblowing” complaint, I argue, was a tactic to further divide the country by politicizing the issue.

The media and policymakers are not only driving the narrative, but are doing so, I contend, to drive the stock market for self-benefit and that of their shareholders. On 15 June, 2020, Denise Hinton, FDA Chief Scientist, drafted a letter to Gary L. Disbrow, (also of the FDA and BARDA) requesting that the FDA revoke the Emergency Use Authorization (EU); see attachment. While federal investigations are necessary, the possibility of Operation Warp Speed removing any possible competition (Sanofi SA), must be taken into account and dealt with to the highest extent of the law.

Although Operation Warp Speed denounced their ties with WHO, it is critical to acknowledge Richard Bright’s ongoing membership in the WHO.

According to Stat:

“The Trump administration accused a federal whistleblower Thursday of ‘one-sided arguments and misinformation’ and drawing a six-figure salary while not showing up to work.

The Department of Health and Human Services in a statement on Thursday blasted Rick Bright, the former head of a vaccines development agency who says he was ousted when he pushed back on Trump administration decisions about an untested coronavirus treatment.

‘Mr. Bright has not yet shown up for work, but continues to collect his $285,010 salary, while using his taxpayer-funded medical leave to work with partisan attorneys who are politicizing the response to Covid-19,’ an HHS spokesperson said in a statement.”

It is for these reasons that a full investigation into Bright, Slaoui, Hitton, and all other task force leaders of Operation Warp Speed be conducted immediately to prevent probable efforts of manipulating the Stock Market, and collaborating with policy makers in criminal conspiracy and profiteering. For these reasons, the following recommendations are made.

Recommendations 

• The STOCK Act of 2012 which prohibits members of Congress from insider trading based on nonpublic information must be amended to include the following:

“All federal employees and members of Congress shall be barred from trading, owning shares, or investing in stock market Buys whose stocks are correlated to public policy or from drafting and introducing public policy which drives the demand of stock.’”

• GOA to perform an internal audit of Operation Warp Speed members to investigate conflicts of interest between their personal investments of pharmaceutical stock exchange and any and all lobbying efforts to advocate HR 6666 and/or HR 6351.

 

• A litigation or indictment case against Operation Warp Speed based on clear and present evidence of profiteering (i.e. Slaoui/ Moderna) and the results pending investigations/audits shall follow as deemed appropriate, including suit against the FDA for antitrust in their pursuit of diminishing real and alternative competition.