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Tom Kean Jr.’s Donor Tied Up in Lawsuits for Opioid Crisis and Causing Cancer

Feb 06, 2020

Allergan has been sued for contributing to the opioid epidemic and selling cancer-causing products

While Kean Jr. cashes Big Pharma checks, Rep. Malinowski rejects corporate PAC money

As the opioid epidemic continues to take its toll on New Jersey families, State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) is cashing checks from one of its perpetrators. According to filings that became public last week, Kean Jr. took a $2,500 check from Allergan’s corporate PAC, a Big Pharma company sued for its role in the opioid crisis, including a lawsuit in New Jersey. Allergan has also been hit with class action lawsuits for producing breast implants that can cause cancer.

“While Rep. Tom Malinowski is taking on Big Pharma and helping pass legislation to authorize funding to address the opioid epidemic, Tom Kean Jr. is funnelling Big Pharma corporate PAC money into his campaign,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Tom Malinowski doesn’t take a dime of corporate PAC money. Tom Kean Jr. is profiting from the same corporate special interests fueling New Jersey’s opioid crisis; there’s no way he’ll ever stand up to them.”

This is far from the first time Kean Jr. has taken contributions from the Big Pharma companies hurting New Jerseyans. Just last month he was caught accepting more than $20,000 in contributions from former Celgene CEO Bob Hugin, while Celgene backed out of a class action settlement that would have provided restitution to thousands of patients harmed by the company’s price fixing schemes.

End Citizens United (ECU) is dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics and unrigging the system so that government works for all Americans. The group endorsed Rep. Tom Malinowski for re-election in March 2019, and has given him an A+ rating for his work championing anti-corruption and money-in-politics reforms, as well as his rejection of corporate PAC money.

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