Covid wind! CEOs of 300 healthcare companies took home $4.5 billion last year –

Leading CEOs of the US healthcare industry took home more than $4.5 billion last year, or seven times the CDC’s budget for infectious disease research, according to figures.

The Earnings Analysis for STAT News’ 300 Top CEOs revealed the excess amount of salaries, bonuses, bonuses and royalties from stocks.

A tenth of that – or $453 million – was paid to Leonard Schleifer, who ran Regeneron, which rose to fame after monoclonal antibody therapy became one of the first to treat Covid in 2020.

Many healthcare companies have seen revenues increase from sales to help fight Covid and lucrative deals with public authorities to conduct Covid tests or distribute drugs.

But others have also seen sales increase as occlusions lead to a change in behavior, for example due to difficulties in accessing the dentist, with the purchase of more invisible orthodontic appliances.

Critics called today’s giant figure “misplaced priorities” and revealed that companies do things “unseen in the public interest”.

Leonard Schleifer, president of Regeneron, earned a total of $453 million last year, equivalent to ten percent of the total earnings of the top 300 CEOs.

The second-highest earner was Joseph Hogan (left), head of invisible braces manufacturer Align. The third tallest was Mike Pykosz, who runs Oak Street Health.

STAT News used the Associated Press Collection Tool to estimate the earnings of CEOs at healthcare companies that earn more than $1 billion.

The results were compared to the $648,000 received by the CDC for surveillance and research on zoonotic infectious diseases that emerged in 2021.

Even the highest-earning Schleifer is not one to shy away from his wealth.

He owns villas in both Martha’s Vineyard and Chappaqua, New York.

He also played golf with former President Donald Trump at his club in Westchester, New York, and even financed his son Adam’s failed bid to Congress.

Regeneron’s key success in the pandemic has been a cocktail of antibodies, sold under the brand name REGEN-COV, which can help combat early-stage infections of vulnerable people.

More than three million doses have been sold to the US government alone for $2,100 each to help fight the virus. Other countries struggled to get the doses.

But with the arrival of the Omicron variant, the product quickly fell out of favor, making the treatment less effective.

The second biggest winner was Joseph Hogan, president of Align, an invisible orthodontic appliance manufacturer.

The 62-year-old actor joined the business of Swiss tech company ABB, which he left for “private reasons” in 2015.

Align has been successful during the pandemic because more and more people are opting for braces over traditional braces for fear of exposure to the virus by their dentist.

Clear step method that allows people to use the device without being seen.

Demand for these products has skyrocketed during the pandemic as more and more people choose to avoid traditional dentists and braces for fear of exposure to the virus.

The third highest earner was Mike Pykosz, 38, who heads Oak Street Health’s healthcare system.

Harvard Law School graduate, Mr. Pykosz founded the company as an offering for Medicare patients who go even when they don’t normally need the emergency room.

It has also signed several lucrative contracts to provide Covid tests in parts of America during the pandemic.

Katherine Hempstead, health policy expert at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, criticizes the huge revenues that CEOs get: “There is so much evidence of misplaced priorities and incentives.

“Although health care is highly regulated, it is not sufficiently regulated to prevent companies from doing all these things that do not appear to be in the public interest.

“Whether it’s high pay for the CEO, or different kinds of anticompetitive behavior, games, or different kinds of rent-seeking activities.”

Commenting on the report, Regeneron said that Schleifer is one of the company’s founders and one of the longest-serving CEOs at S&P500.

“Your calculation largely reflects Dr. Schleifer’s stock options, which appreciate over time along with the value of the company and are about to expire after a 10-year holding period.”