Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Top Novartis Lawyer 'Takes Personal Responsibility,' Steps Down Over $1.2M Contract With Trump Lawyer
The Wall Street Journal: Novartis Top Lawyer Departs Over Cohen Payments
A top executive at Swiss drugmaker Novartis is stepping down as the global fallout widens from the recent disclosure of payments to a company owned by U.S. President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer. Novartis said Wednesday that general counsel Felix Ehrat, 61 years old, is retiring from the company in connection with $1.2 million in payments it made over the course of a year to Michael Cohen’s shell company, Essential Consultants LLC. (Blackstone and Bernhard, 5/16)
CNN: Novartis Top Lawyer Felix Ehrat Quits Over Cohen Payments
Cohen's company Essential Consultants had a one-year $1.2 million contract with Novartis during the beginning of the Trump administration. "Although the contract was legally in order, it was an error," Ehrat said in a statement. "As a co-signatory with our former CEO, I take personal responsibility to bring the public debate on this matter to an end." (Kottasova, 5/16)
Reuters: Top Novartis Lawyer Exits Over Trump Attorney Deal Error
U.S. lawmakers have demanded Novartis and AT&T (T.N), which also made payments to Cohen’s firm, provide details and Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, has initiated an investigation. Ehrat, Novartis’s general counsel since 2011, had been expected to leave within the next 1-1/2 years, while Jimenez stepped down on Feb. 1 and was replaced by Vas Narasimhan. (Miller, 5/16)
Bloomberg: Novartis General Counsel To Step Down After Cohen Payments
Novartis’s new CEO Vas Narasimhan has been grappling with the fallout over the contract, which drew the drugmaker into Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of suspected Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election. Narasimhan, who’s meeting with investors Wednesday in Basel, conducted a conference call Monday for 5,000 managers in which he said the company needs to rebuild trust and rethink its approach to the use of consultants and lobbying firms, according to a person familiar with the situation. (Paton, 5/16)
Bloomberg: Trump Lawyer Cohen Dangled Policy Help, Ex-Novartis Chief Says
President Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen offered to help Novartis AG get a grip on the U.S. administration’s position on key health-care issues before an agreement with the Swiss drugmaker quickly turned sour, former Chief Executive Officer Joe Jimenez said. In an interview with Bloomberg, Jimenez said Cohen told him that he had left Trump’s organization and had stopped working for the president before pitching for business with Novartis. The former chief broke his silence after revelations last week that the company had paid $1.2 million to Cohen’s consulting firm. (Paton, 5/16)
