Tennessee Conservative PAC President John Gregory, King Pharma, Hoechst Marion Roussel & Altace

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Note: Roussel Uclaf was the name of the French pharmaceutical subsidary of the German pharma giant, Hoechst AG. The American subidary Hoechst Roussel later merged with another American company then based in Kansas City, MO to become Hoechst Marion Roussel --- the same Hoechst AG subsidary that would sell Gregory's Monarch Pharmaceuticals exclusive U.S. (and not worldwide) rights to market and distribute Altace and other formerly HMR branded phramaceutical drugs. Following the transaction with Monarch Pharmaceuticals in late December 1998, Hoechst AG merged with our companies and changed the emerging European phamaceutical giant's new corporate names.

Ney York Times: Abortion Foes Plan to Boycott French Pill Maker
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E2D9113BF931A35755C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print
June 2, 1994

A coalition of abortion opponents announced plans today to boycott the French maker of the abortion pill RU486 and its American subsidiaries for arranging to bring the drug into the United States.

The coalition, which includes the National Right to Life Committee and the Southern Baptist Convention, said it would decide which of the companies' products to boycott within a few weeks.

The French manufacturer, Roussel Uclaf, had for years chosen not to sell the drug in the United States in the face of such boycott threats. Last month, under pressure from the Clinton Administration to make the drug available here, the company donated the RU486 patent rights to a nonprofit organization, the Population Council.

The council is seeking a United States manufacturer and plans to test RU486 on 2,000 American women this fall in seeking Food and Drug Administration approval of the pill. The drug, which can be used within seven weeks of conception to end a pregnancy, could be licensed for sale within two years.

Despite Roussel Uclaf's donation of the rights, the anti-abortion coalition nevertheless vowed to punish the company as well as its German parent, Hoechst, and two United States subsidiaries, the drug maker Hoechst Roussel and the chemical manufacturer Hoechst Celanese.

"They cannot escape the moral responsibility for what will ensue," said the National Right to Life Committee's president, Wanda Franz. "What RU486 will bring us is serial killing by abortion."

James Smith, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention, said the boycott list would be broadcast by ministers who would "stand up in the pulpits to say these companies are responsible for bringing the death pill to America."

The four companies produce a wide variety of items, including prescription medicines, polyester and bulk chemicals used to make products like detergents.

A Roussel Uclaf spokeswoman, Catherine Euvrard, said the boycott was pointless because the donation had been completed.

Sandra Waldman, a spokeswoman for the Population Council, said the threat of a boycott was expected. She added that several companies have expressed interest in manufacturing the pill in this country.

If approved, RU486 would be an alternative to the 1.6 million surgical abortions performed each year. The drug blocks development of a hormone essential for maintaining pregnancy. Two days after taking RU486, patients take another hormone, prostaglandin, that causes contractions which expel the embryo.

House Votes to Block OK of Abortion Pill
http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jun/25/news/mn-63525
By Marlene Cimons and Marc Lacey
June 25, 1998 in print edition A-10

Catching abortion-rights supporters by surprise, the House voted Wednesday to block the Food and Drug Administration from proceeding with the expected approval of the French abortion pill, RU-486.

(...)

Spending bills long have been vehicles for advancing antiabortion provisions to the House floor, a tactic that grows more common in election years. For example, a measure to pay this country’s delinquent dues to the United Nations is in limbo because House Republicans affixed antiabortion language to it.

On a related issue, an anticipated fight on the House floor Wednesday over whether federal employees’ health plans ought to cover contraceptives was delayed. It may come up today. Abortion foes liken some forms of contraception–such as birth control pills–to early abortion.

In the case of RU-486, FDA approval of its marketing in the United States is expected soon. A study, published in April <1998> in the New England Journal of Medicine, found the drug highly effective and safe for terminating early pregnancies.

Already widely used in France, Sweden and Britain, RU-486 is a synthetic steroid that makes it difficult for a fertilized egg to adhere to the lining of the uterus.

(...)

White House spokesman Joe Lockhart called the House measure a “serious mistake,” saying that it is an attempt to “substitute political ideology for sound science.”

(...)

The controversial pill’s primary advantage, backers said, is that it enables a woman to have an abortion without the necessity of a surgical procedure at a clinic or hospital.

“RU-486 can be given in the privacy of a physician’s office–away from clinics blockaded by protesters, away from violence, harassment and intimidation,” Lowey said.

(...)

The drug, which was expected to reach the U.S. market within a year or two, could be kept off the market indefinitely if the amendment is enacted. FDA licensing of the drug cannot be completed until a manufacturer is selected and the agency inspects its facilities.

In recent years, it has been difficult to find a manufacturer willing to produce the drug. Many have been reluctant because of the political overtones associated with the highly emotional debate and threats of economic boycotts by antiabortion groups.

But the Population Council, which owns the U.S. patent on the drug and sponsored the research, said in April that a possible manufacturer had been found. The manufacturer was not publicly named.

The drug’s original manufacturer, now known as Hoechst Marion Roussel, stopped making it last year <1997> after threats by abortion foes to boycott the company’s other drugs.

...like Alltace.

King Pharmaceuticals CEO focuses on patented products.
Full article published: 01/13/2000    
JOHN M. GREGORY is CEO of King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:KING)
http://archive.twst.com/notes/articles/jab202.html

"TWST: Give us a brief overview of King Pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Gregory: King started in January of 1994 as a contract manufacturer for big pharma companies like SmithKline Beecham and Novartis. In 1996 we switched gears through our Monarch Pharmaceutical subsidiary and began to focus more on brand name pharmaceutical product lines...As revenues continued to grow we decided to take the company public in June of 1998. As a matter of fact, we effected the largest pharmaceutical IPO of 1998. At the end of 1998 we completed our largest transaction to date, with the purchase of ALTACE from Hoechst Marion Roussel for $362 million. ALTACE at that time was generating approximately $95 million in revenues, and to date, that represents the largest single product acquisition by an emerging pharmaceutical company."...Then on August 31, 1999, the results of the HOPE study pertaining to our product ALTACE were released and presented at the ESC meeting in Barcelona, Spain, which was a very significant event for the company. Thereafter, in November, the results were presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Atlanta, and The New England Journal of Medicine released the results of the HOPE Study prior to the projected publication date in January 2000 because of the significant public health implications of the findings. And as we speak, we are aggressively disseminating the HOPE Study results to physicians and informing them of the success of ALTACE in the HOPE clinical trial. So we are focused presently on the marketing of our brand name products, especially ALTACE and LORABID.

Founder and former Tennesee Conservative PAC President
Meglamillionaire John M. Gregory

John Gregory uses checkbook to promote conservative causes
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=3672677
By HANK HAYES
Published September 3rd, 2006

A man known as one of Tennessee's premier political advocacy difference makers remains on a mission to move selected conservative causes forward with his checkbook while shunning the public spotlight.

Former King Pharmaceuticals Chairman John Gregory, who does not do interviews with reporters, is raising money for Tennessee Right To Life (TRL) during the state anti-abortion group's 30th anniversary.

Gregory and his wife, Joan, have announced a $75,000 gift to TRL and have committed to match other gifts to TRL up to an additional $75,000 through Oct. 31.

TRL President Brian Harris said one church responded with a $50,000 gift.

"This is the first time a donor has ever stepped forward in such a significant fashion and offered to use his generous gift as a tool to encourage others to give," Harris said of the Gregorys.

Gregory's spokesman, former state Sen. Jim Holcomb, said Gregory has given about $600,000 to political advocacy groups and an estimated $1 million to political campaigns and political action committees over the past five years. Gregory is now managing partner of his own Bristol-based investment firm and has served as president of the King Benevolent Fund, an international ministry.

"Much credit for the shift in Tennessee's political landscape relating to pro-life efforts is due to the enormous vision, commitment and generosity of John and Joan Gregory..." TRL said in an e-mailed news release. "In particular, the Gregorys have made it possible to place field representatives in critical regions of the state allowing for more effective chapter development and the strengthening of relationships and profile of the Right to Life movement. Simply put, strong local chapters translate into legislation passed, elections won and lives saved."

(...)

Holcomb noted the political environment has changed for pro-life candidates.

"I remember when I ran back in the late '80s and in '92 for the Senate, I had Republicans saying Jim, don't say things like I'm pro-life,'" Holcomb recalled. "I saw my responsibility as being a standard bearer, not just voting on the issues, but I would carry the bills. And now, even (Democratic U.S. Senate candidate) Harold Ford is saying I'm pro-life.'... What a change."

One of TRL's main goals has been overturning a lawsuit known as Planned Parenthood v. Sundquist. In that case, the Tennessee Supreme Court determined a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy is a vital part of the right to privacy guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution.

Holcomb said Republican lawmakers continue to challenge the court ruling.

"It's a never-ending battle," he said. "It's like each side tries to make a little bit of headway, move their agenda further down the track whether that be pro-choice or pro-life. It comes up in bills all the time. ... Having people running for office who are willing to take a stand on the pro-life issue is important."

(...)

Outside of TRL, Holcomb said Gregory contributed money to the creation of the Family Action Council www.realmarriage.org, an anti-same-sex marriage organization promoting the Marriage Protection Amendment on Tennessee's November ballot.

http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=3672677">more

http://www.naral.org">

http://www.myfreewillpower.com">

http://www.guttmacher.org/in-the-know/index.html">In the Know: Questions About Pregnancy, Contraception and Abortion - Guttmacher Institute

http://8e.devbio.com/article.php?id=162">Developmental Biology 8e Online: When Does Human Life Begin?