Newly disclosed financial records show that President Donald Trump's nominee to become secretary of the Health and Human Services Department reaped big earnings during his tenure as a top pharmaceutical executive.
As a top drug industry veteran from 2007 to 2017, former Eli Lilly and Co. executive Alex Azar built a substantial financial portfolio now worth as much as US$20.6 million, and he was paid nearly US$2 million in his final year at the company.
Azar was a former general counsel at HHS during President George W. Bush's administration. If confirmed, he would replace Tom Price, who resigned under pressure after using private charter flights at taxpayer expense.
Azar oversaw Eli Lilly's lobbying of the federal government during a sensitive two-year period when the pharmaceutical firm was under investigation by the Justice Department for improperly marketing a medication used for schizophrenia.
From 2007 to 2009, when Azar worked as a senior vice president in charge of corporate affairs and communications, Eli Lilly's lobbying of federal officials and Congress surged.