General Koop Doing Okay as Capitalist

0 Comments | Insight on the News, August 2, 1999 | by John Elvin

Anew Net millionaire, former surgeon general C. Everett Koop is taking heat from former allies for supporting legislation pushed by a major drug company. Ralph Nader's Public Citizen activist group called Koop an unregistered lobbyist for drag maker Schering-Plough Corp. for supporting a bill that could extend the patent life of its best-selling allergy drug, Claritin.

The group says the company donated $1 million to the former surgeon general's nonprofit Koop Foundation and advertises on his Website, drkoop.com. "A $1 million grant from a drug company followed by this kind of lobbying act is a serious conflict of interest;' said Sidney Wolfe, head of Public Citizen's Health Research Group. "It looks like America has a new `company doctor.'"

Koop, normally a relentless nag on topics ranging from opposition to youth smoking to AIDS awareness, wrote to lawmakers urging them to support the bill. Koop's assistant in Washington vigorously disputed the charges, saying Koop has advocated strong patent protection for pharmaceuticals for almost two decades. Koop's Website actually is quite democratic in terms of accepting ads: Just about every major drug company is represented.