Kudos to FiercePharma, for catching this one — and the nearly immediate reaction, from the White House. Do go read the whole story, but here is the set-up.
Mr. Saunders (as a student of “Fast” Fred Hassan, in full-on high dungeon, here) remarked that “changing the Treasury regulations,” which of course had been plainly-noticed up for two years (so long as one wasn’t comatose, or too deeply imbibing his own brand of Kool-Aid, Mr. Saunders), and noting here that the Saunders complaint applies only to an announced PROPOSAL by Pfizer and Allergan (not a closed deal). . . was somehow “Un-American“. Hmmm. This caused the White House Press Secretary to snap-back (as we might more commonly say):
. . . .White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest: [Replying] not only against Pfizer’s effort to take advantage of Ireland’s lower tax rate, but [also to] Allergan’s own “move” overseas, which put its nominal headquarters in Dublin but left most of its HQ operations back in New Jersey [not all that long ago]. . . .
“I think it is difficult to have a lot of patience for an American CEO trying to execute a complicated financial transaction to avoid paying taxes in America talking about what it means to be a good citizen of the United States,” Earnest said. . . .
Ouch. Not. Exactly. The. Press. Coverage. Mr. Saunders. Was. Hoping. For. But redolent, indeed, of Fast Fred — to a tee, in fact. Some times, this stuff just writes itself. . . . Thanks FiercePharma!
New Merck, Reviewed 