REP. OWEN PICKETT (D-VA)

On August 25, 1993, Rep. Pickett purchased between 50,000 and 100,000 dollars worth of stock in Genentech (a leading biotechnology firm that is developing, among other things, an AIDS vaccine). He later sold this stock on October 18, 1993.

The timing of this stock transaction is significant because it occured when Congress was once again considering a multi-million dollar appropriation for the Army to test a possible AIDS vaccine known as gp160. MicroGeneSys developed this drug, and scored a 1992 defense appropriation to the tune of 20 million dollars (much to the outrage of the scientific community). Naturally, Genentech would want a piece of any AIDS testing appropriations money, and/or want MicroGeneSys to be cut-out of the loop.

The controversy over MicroGeneSys' appropriation was immense. Shortly after Rep. Pickett completed his Genentech transaction (and made between 5,000 and 15,000 dollars on the deal), MicroGeneSys found itself "in serious difficulty." They lost their financial backing from Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, they lost the exclusive tests on their vaccine, and their chief advocate in the Army (Dr. Robert Redfield) was accused of misrepresenting clinical data on gp160 and "re-assigned" to other duties. In short, MicroGeneSys' cozy deal (initially crafted by lobbyist Russell Long) blew-up in their faces!

NOTES: Rep. Pickett is # 13 on the House Armed Services Committee; he is # 3 on the Armed Services Research and Technology Subcommittee.