*Santorum's COVID Treatment?* *MedPage Today, November 4, 2020*
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/89477?xid=nl_mpt_investigative2020-11-04&eun=g1402931d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=InvestigativeMD_110420&utm_term=NL_Gen_Int_InvestigateMD_Active A small plasma company without an office or credibility -- but with connections to a former Republican senator -- has been awarded potentially millions of dollars more than it requested by the Trump administration to produce antibody therapies for COVID-19 treatment, according to the *Associated Press* <https://apnews.com/article/technology-virus-outbreak-south-carolina-only-on-ap-72c13796656246450b0d158a03a86970> . Plasma Technologies LLC is run by Eugene Zurlo, a former pharmaceutical industry executive "and well-connected Republican donor," the newswire reported. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) is a part-owner. The company's address was traced to a condo owned by Zurlo. It purports to turn human plasma into protein-heavy antibody therapies that could treat COVID-19 patients, but its major initiative failed a few years ago. The administration awarded the company $65 million after Santorum lobbied on its behalf, according to the *AP*. His initial pitch, to HHS, had been rejected in the spring after experts "didn't see Zurlo's technology as worthy of millions in emergency pandemic funding." So Santorum then lobbied the Department of defense, asking for $51.6 million to construct a plasma facility in Raleigh, N.C. HHS eventually granted $750,000 in seed money, with as much as $65 million going to a commercial facility. It is unclear where the additional money would come from or why it was needed. --- Support News from Underground: https://bit.ly/NFUSupport Visit News from Underground: https://markcrispinmiller.com You received this email because you are subscribed to News from Underground. To unsubscribe from this email list, please go to: http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=pIdjNUgiG2h8yxbhC54SSy4SEskAoEMs For archives, please go to: https://archives.simplelists.com/nfu
