I was astonished to read the Commentary by Bill Gunderson in the Nov. 3 edition.
Gunderson attacks Congressman Henry Waxman of Los Angeles for sending a letter to Gilead Sciences Inc., questioning its drug cost for a regimen that takes 85 days with a cost of $1,000 a day. Gunderson claims that Waxman was responsible for a short-term decline in Gilead’s stock price. Gunderson suggests that Waxman will also attack drug companies working on Ebola vaccines, contending that in a way Waxman will be responsible for slowing their research and, thus, helping the spread of Ebola. Gunderson is a well-know promoter through his radio program and newsletters. His attack on Waxman lacks merit and borders on the absurd.
What is most shocking is that the Business Journal would publish his commentary with the headline “Congressman, Heal Thyself.” It is most distressing and disappointing.
To begin with, Waxman, after a distinguished 40-year career, announced his retirement at the beginning of 2014, so two months from now, he will not even be in Congress and certainly not in a position to challenge Gilead or the makers of Ebola vaccines.
Secondly, perhaps neither Gunderson nor the Business Journal are aware that the Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives for some time and neither Waxman nor any other Democrat could get legislation out of the House during that period. Furthermore, Democrats do not hold committee chairmanships in the House of Representatives.
Let’s look at some facts: Gilead is a fairly typical biotech stock and in the last 10 months has risen from about $62 up to $116 and was trading late last week at about $107. Biotech and other high-tech stocks trade in wide swings, and it is not unusual for them to incur 5 percent to 10 percent swings over a few days. If Gilead had a drop in price after Waxman’s letter, on its way to a 77 percent gain, I wish Waxman would criticize a few of the stocks I own.
I researched commentaries on Gilead by CNN Money, Zacks, CNBC, MSNBC, Yahoo and Motley Fool. None mentioned Waxman. It appears that Gunderson had a major position in Gilead and lost his temper when the stock went down for a few weeks.
Drug policy
To go out of his way to attack Waxman, a nationally praised statesman on health care issues and particularly drug safety, is outlandish.
Waxman authored the “Orphan Drug” act, which helped people with catastrophic illnesses where drugs existed but the number of effected patients was not a big enough population to economically justify the continued manufacture of the drugs. Waxman conceived and got his colleagues to join him in the development of the Orphan Drug legislation, which was a partnership between the drug companies and the government so that these drugs could be made available to the patients in need under a cost-sharing program. It literally has saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives since its inception.
Waxman also authored the “Ryan White” act that provided comprehensive care for children with AIDS.
It was Waxman as a committee chairman who had the guts, when no other politician was willing to take on the tobacco industry, to subpoena the board chairs of every major tobacco company to testify under oath in front of TV cameras about their opinions on the addicting qualities of nicotine.
Historians and sociologists say that those hearings were the watershed turning point in tobacco use in this country: In 2014, the use of tobacco by teenagers is the lowest in more than 50 years.
Waxman was the leader in speaking out for a Food and Drug Administration investigation and for product labeling so that drugs, vitamins and other packaged products emanating from abroad could not be sold without proper testing and labeling. In one hearing, Waxman got the chairman of Richardson-Merrill, the then-distributor of the Vicks cough products, to admit that for every dollar spent on research by the company, more than $15 was spent on radio, television and media advertising. These are just some of Waxman’s health-related contributions during his tenure in Congress.
Yes, Waxman has probably been feared by some drug companies, but his historic role has been as a watchdog and problem solver. There is nothing in his career that justifies the insidious attack by Gunderson. As he leaves Congress, he deserves the thanks and respect of the public. It is shocking that the Business Journal became a participant in this inappropriate diatribe and owes an immediate apology to Congressman Waxman.
Irving Reifman is a lawyer who practices in Los Angeles.
