Dr. Cameron Webb Calls on Bob Good to Divest all Holdings from Purdue, Abbott and Major Companies in Pharmaceutical Industry Responsible for the Opioid Epidemic

From Dr. Cameron Webb’s campaign in VA05:

Dr. Cameron Webb Calls on Bob Good to Divest all Holdings from Purdue, Abbott and Major Companies in Pharmaceutical Industry Responsible for the Opioid Epidemic

Charlottesville, VA — After news of Purdue Pharma pleading guilty to federal criminal charges for its role in the opioid epidemic, Dr. Cameron Webb, Democratic candidate for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, called on his opponent, Bob Good, to divest his controversial holdings in the pharmaceutical industry, including a pharma company that flooded our towns with opioids on Purdue’s behalf. Divestiture would make it clear to voters that Mr. Good will govern in the interest of the 5th district, not for companies he has a financial stake in.

Recent reports have detailed how Bob Good is invested in two pharmaceutical companies — Abbott Laboratories and McKesson — that directly benefited from County contracts that Bob Good voted for as a Campbell County Supervisor. Abbott marketed OxyContin on Purdue’s behalf, playing a “crucial” role in making Purdue’s OxyContin the top-selling opioid in the nation and flooding VA communities with addictive painkillers.

In 2016, Good voted to give Abbott a $567,000 taxpayer funded giveaway just weeks after voting to cut nearly the same amount from Campbell County Schools. Good voted to give McKesson, which was also “at the heart of the opioid crisis,” a contract to bill and collect Campbell County ambulance fees. The deal let McKesson pocket 4.25% of the funds it collected. Then, Good raised ambulance fees 26% and let McKesson seize property and garnish wages from patients who couldn’t pay. Good’s failure to disclose these potential conflicts of interest on state and federal ethics filings may even constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.

“Too many individuals and families have faced unthinkable pain due to the opioid crisis. It is essential that our leaders stand up to those pharmaceutical companies that have recklessly endangered our communities in their pursuit of profit” said Dr. Cameron Webb. “I will always stand up to these and other pharmaceutical companies to help ensure we end the opioid epidemic and address the unacceptably high cost of prescription medications. I call on my opponent to divest his financial ties to companies like Abbott and McKesson, so he can make the same pledge to the voters of Virginia’s 5th district.”