Vote for Bob Hugin for US Senator

I will vote for Bob Hugin for US Senator. There was some controversy about Bob Hugin’s records while he was CEO at Celgene. I want to set the record straight.

Under Bob Hugin’s leadership, Celgene has helped nearly 300,000 patients access and afford the medicines they needed, nearly 90% of patients got their medicines for $50 a month or less. Celgene invested an industryleading 40% of their revenues in research and development to discover revolutionary medicines that saved and extended lives. Celgene partnered with over 200 patient organizations to support and advance pro-patient policies, outreach, education and advocacy. Survival rates in multiple myeloma patients doubled between 2001 and 2014. The number of Celgene fulltime employees has quadrupled, creating thousands of high-quality jobs in New Jersey, including over 2,500 researchers.

While Bob Hugin was CEO, the annual R&D investment increase (36.9%) was five times the average annual Revlimid price increase (7.5%), the leading anti-cancer treatment developed by Celgene for patients with multiple myeloma. In Bob Hugin’s last year as CEO, Celgene spent a higher percentage of revenue on R&D than any large company, in any industry, anywhere in the world. In 2016 alone, Bob Hugin and Celgene spent $4.5 billion on research, nearly as much as the National Cancer Institute.

What about the $280 Million Settlement? While President Obama’s Department of Justice investigated Bob Menendez and indicted him for bribery, they took no action when they looked at Celgene and this lawsuit by a disgruntled employee. Celgene settled the lawsuit so they could focus on their core missions of helping patients and finding cures for cancer.

Bob Hugin is the choice to US Senator.

— Taylor Zhong, Plainsboro