John Arnold, a former energy trader and hedge fund manager, is putting up millions of dollars to fight the pharmaceutical industry over drug prices, the Wall Street Journal reports.
By the numbers: Arnold has given $19 million to ICER, the independent organization that studies whether drugs are worth what they cost.
Arnold and his wife have pledged another $5.7 million to I-MAK, an organization that challenges patents of brand name drugs.
Another $1 million went to Civica Rx, the drugmaker founded by a consortium of hospitals to produce generic drugs.
Arnold's foundation also funds the advocacy group Patients for Affordable Drugs, which has taken on industry allies from both political parties.
Why it matters: The pharmaceutical industry is so powerful and has remained free from political intervention for so long, in part because it's enormously well-funded — both in its direct lobbying and in its advocacy work.
No one person is likely to outmatch the entire drug industry, but Arnold's foundation controls assets of more than $2 billion, per WSJ. That's more than the Red Cross — and enough to provide a credible counterweight to pharma.
