done by their products,” California State Treasurer John Chiang said. “While they are making enormous profits, suffering from opioid abuse continues to increase, especially in poor communities in California and throughout the country, where jobs are few and hopelessness fuels the crises. I join my fellow state treasurers in urging Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen to help us end the death and destruction that is directly linked to their products.” The treasurers’ demand comes as varying units of state and local governments nationwide file lawsuits against drug companies, including Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, alleging that the companies knew or should have known an excessive number of opioid painkillers were being sent to the same area.
Cardinal Health (NYST: CAH) and AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC), along with McKesson, are the three largest prescription drug wholesalers in the nation. The combined revenues of Cardinal as large as Wal-Mart.
Many painkillers are opioid-based, which is the active ingredient in heroin. Among the questionable actions taken by Big Pharma were misleading marketing tactics and inadequate oversight of rising addiction rates.
The treasurers ask Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen to:
Change company bylaws to provide for an independent board chair.
Engage an independent counsel to identify the financial risks to which the company is exposed based upon its prescription opioid distribution and associated activities.
Connect executive compensation with progress in combating the opioid epidemic.
Produce a report for the Board related to the scope of the opioid epidemic, the impact of the problem on public health and government resources, and possible responses to the problem.
Expand clawback policies to enable the company recoup executive compensation.
About the Illinois Treasurer The Illinois Treasurer is the state’s chief investment officer and Frerichs is a Certified Public Finance Officer. He protects consumers by encouraging savings plans for college or trade school, increasing financial education among all ages, and removing barriers to a secure retirement. As the state’s Chief Investment Officer, he actively manages approximately $25 billion. The portfolio
includes $13 billion in state funds, $7 billion in college savings plans and $5 billion on behalf of local and state governments. The investment approach is cautious to ensure the preservation of capital and returns $28 to the state for every $1 spent in operations. The Treasurer’s Office predates Illinois incorporation in 1818. Voters in 1848 chose to make it an elected office.
About the Pennsylvania Treasurer Ambassador (Ret.) Joe Torsella was sworn in as the 77th Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on January 17, 2017. Torsella brings a record of leadership and integrity to Treasury that spans 25 years of public service. As the custodian for nearly $100 billion of commonwealth assets, Torsella is a strong voice for smart policy, fiscal responsibility and public integrity on issues that will shape the future of each and every Pennsylvanian.
About the West Virginia Treasurer The West Virginia State Treasurer is the chief financial officer for the state and is responsible for overseeing the state’s operating funds, monitoring the state’s debt and performing additional banking and accounting duties as prescribed by state law. The Treasurer’s scope of duties includes overseeing the state’s Board of Treasury Investments, the West Virginia Retirement Plus deferred compensation plan, the SMART529 college savings program and the Unclaimed Property program.
The West Virginia State Treasurer also serves as a member of the financial decision-making boards throughout state government.
About the California Treasurer John Chiang was elected on Nov. 4, 2014, as California’s 33rd State Treasurer. As the state’s banker, he oversees trillions of dollars in annual transactions, manages a $75 billion investment portfolio, and is the nation’s largest issuer of municipal bonds. In addition, he chairs financing authorities that help provide good-paying jobs, better schools, improved transportation, quality health care, more affordable housing and a cleaner environment. He handles those duties while sitting on the governing boards of the nation’s two largest public pension funds with combined assets exceeding $496 billion. The son of immigrant parents, Chiang graduated with honors from the University of South Florida with a degree in finance. He received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.
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