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Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Borla left for an off-site meeting with his top management team at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, in the latest attempt by corporate America to align itself with the US president-elect.
Borla arrived in Palm Beach, Florida on Monday evening with several members of his executive leadership, according to flight records and two people familiar with the matter.
PfizerIts executive team has been using Mar-a-Lago for a planning meeting for several days, the people said. While there is no scheduled meeting between Borla and Trump, the pair are likely to communicate, and the choice of venue is another example of the pharmaceutical industry reaching out to Trump, a person familiar with the meeting said.
Pharma executives are preparing to hire vaccine skeptic and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and his allies to run the US Department of Health and its powerful agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kennedy and his advisers have sown doubts about the mass rollout of vaccines and a new class of blockbuster weight-loss drugs.
When contacted by the Financial Times, Pfizer confirmed that the meeting was being held at Mar-a-Lago. Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Borla, who has worked closely with the Trump administration to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, is a comfortable fit for the president-elect.
Borla met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in the run-up to the November election and then played a key role in organizing a December dinner with Trump, Kennedy, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks and PHRMA, industry chief Stephen Uble. Lobbying group, people.
Borla is among a growing list of corporate executives trying to build a direct relationship with Trump ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook all dined with Trump at Mar-A-Lago in recent weeks.
Pfizer is among several companies, including Meta and Amazon, that have pledged money to Trump’s inaugural committee, one of the people said.
Despite the pharma industry’s concerns about Kennedy’s nomination, some executives hope they can help shape a mutually beneficial policy agenda, according to Washington lobbyists.
“Everybody knows where Donald Trump is going to go on immigration and energy, but there are many nuances that could have multibillion-dollar implications for big tech and pharmaceuticals,” said Matt Mowers, a former Trump official who runs the lobbying firm Valco. “These nuances are areas where these organizations will need to begin working with the incoming administration.”
“If I were a CEO of a pharma company, I’d move to Mar-a-Lago, too,” says John Lamatina, Pfizer’s former head of research and development. “Trump likes people to come and pay him respects, and he listens when they do. So what better access than going directly to the president-elect to make your case?”
One of the issues industry executives think they can cooperate with the new administration on is reforming pharmacy benefit managers, the companies that negotiate drug prices on behalf of employers, insurers and state-backed health insurance programs, Lamatina said. These companies have come under fire for making huge profits. Executives hope to work with Kennedy on efforts to shake up the food industry as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Pfizer, one of the world’s largest vaccine makers, was among several pharma stocks that traded after Kennedy was announced as Trump’s nominee to lead the US Health Department. In December, Kennedy met with more than 20 Republican senators to discuss his plans for the role ahead of his confirmation hearing.
