Another "no-bid" contract scandal

[JenaS62]

More proof of out of control "crony capitalism" Everyone can scream that it's the reps that are bad and that the dems are good but we see continually that it's both sides - blatant, flagrant corruption.

This is a good one. A company with a high priced small box vaccine (which has not been tested on humans) was awarded a contract with the government. Their principle investor is a democrat money man and on it's board is Andy Stern, former head of the SEIU, who was given stock options that would increase if the company won the contract - which they did. And congratulations to Claire McCaskill, a democrat for calling for an investigation.




"So it’s not just solar-energy boondoggles when it comes to the Obama White House rewarding top Obama donors.

And now, even a top Democrat is asking some serious questions.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has officially called on the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general to investigate a suspicious $433 million no-bid contract for a dubious smallpox vaccine.

Frankly, just about everything connected with this one smells.

The contract was awarded to Siga Technologies, a New York-based company whose principal investor is megabillionaire — and key Democratic moneyman — Ron Perelman.


Its board includes another key Democratic figure: Andy Stern, former head of the powerful SEIU union — who, it’s been reported, was given stock options that would dramatically increase in value if Siga won the contract.

Siga has been hired to provide 1.7 million doses of its smallpox vaccine for the Strategic National Stockpile.

But its vaccine is considerably more expensive — $255 a dose — than the one now in use and has a significantly shorter shelf life: 38 months, although the contract requires a 60-month span.

According to internal e-mails recently revealed by The Los Angeles Times, HHS’ chief medical officer called Siga’s 180 percent markup on the vaccine “outrageous.”

Even more outrageous, the vaccine still hasn’t been tested on humans — meaning, as McCaskill wrote, that no one knows whether “it is actually safe for human use.”

Then there’s the way Siga actually got the contract: It won a competitive bid, even though the winner was required to be a small business — unlike Siga.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion...#ixzz1fwjNPyfh

[Reef Badlaw]

Another situation that reveals what the Obama Administration actually are... side-alley kabuki-puppets. Seems like everybody that donated even modestly to the 08-campaign gets rewarded with sweetheart-cash or appointments to 'posts' which can bring them sweetheart-cash.

But for a vaccine that hasn't been tested yet? Surreal. Siga's listed out of Corvallis, Oregon too. Human BioArmor... whatever that means. Wanna bet there was insider-trading going on during Thursday, May 12th, and Friday, May 13th, 2011? The stock-price rose $1.50 overnight.

There's no difference between the Pentagon spending-shenanigans, and the Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority's, I.E. biochem 'Pentagon' shenanigans. If a phoney stockpile can be concocted, then you can create phoney schemes in its name.

[Reef Badlaw]

Gee, no lefties or mockupy's piling-in to comment on Drug Company/Democrat Administration crony-capitalism playing-out in real-time. Why am I not surprised... ?

[Nu Kua]

The Los Angeles Times has a good story on this as well.

Cost, need questioned in $433-million smallpox drug deal
A company controlled by a longtime political donor gets a no-bid contract to supply an experimental remedy for a threat that may not exist.

Politics as usual.
I question the need to keep stockpiles anyway. As I understand, there were plans to eradicate the stockpile completely, but after 9-11 it was decided they'd better keep them just in case a terrorist created a smallpox biological weapon, so they could then create a serum against it. Apparently, only Russia and the U.S. are known to have kept the smallpox virus around.

[JenaS62]

Gee, no lefties or mockupy's piling-in to comment on Drug Company/Democrat Administration crony-capitalism playing-out in real-time. Why am I not surprised... ?

No. It's way more important to play some stupid game about the evil color red.