Accountable Pharma

Accountable Pharma (formerly known as Patients Over Pharma) is a seemingly defunct project of Accountable.US, which is itself a project of the left-of-center Sixteen Thirty Fund, a funding and fiscal sponsorship organization for left-of-center lobbying and electoral advocacy projects managed by the Washington, D.C.-based consultancy Arabella Advisors, that was used to attack the Trump administration on healthcare issues. The project made allegations of corruption in the Trump administration with regards to health care policy.

At-A-Glance

Issue Areas: Healthcare Policy
Formation:

2020

Project of:

Sixteen Thirty Fund

Location: Washington, DC View on map
Tax ID: 26-4486735
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $106,501,029 Revenue: $282,241,759 Expenses: $310,782,035

Contents

    Founding and History

    Patients Over Pharma Action was launched on January 10, 2020 by then-Accountable.US president Kyle Herrig with the goal of lobbying for the passage of Democratic-backed legislation on drug prices. The legislation passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, but was not brought up for a vote in the Senate. 1

    The project was eventually renamed Accountable Pharma and alleged that there was deep corruption between the Trump administration and the pharmaceutical industry. 2 The project no longer seems to be active and its last post is dated December 21, 2020. 3

    Finances

    Because Accountable Pharma is not actually an independent legal entity, but rather a project of Accountable.US, which is itself a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the financial information about the project is not available.

    Priority Issues and Activism

    Accountable Pharma produced attack adds alleging that Trump facilitated a loan to launch Kodak Pharmaceuticals because the company had previously advertised on his television show, “The Apprentice” and that Operation Warp Speed, the project to support the project to expeditiously create and test a vaccine for COVID-19, was being run by pharmaceutical industry insiders who were benefitting from lax oversight and a lack of transparency. 2 The group has also cast allegations of insider trading by Pfizer executives. 4

    In October of 2020, Accountable Pharma released a report claiming that President Trump had been politicizing and pressuring public health officials to approve a COVID-19 vaccine and cast doubt on the safety of any vaccine. The report, released on October 20, stated that it is not true that a vaccine was imminent (in fact the Pfizer vaccine was approved for emergency use on December 11, less than two months after the report was released5) and expressed worry that President Trump would put pressure on health officials to grant approval to a vaccine even if it wasn’t demonstrated to be safe. The report also contained numerous allegations that the Trump administration was firing officials who disagreed with him and claimed that the emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine was only done under pressure. 6

    In another report released in mid-October of 2020, the project alleged that then-Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barret was in the pocket of pharmaceutical companies and accused the various right-of-center organizations that were supporting her nomination of doing so as a result of donations those organizations had received from the pharmaceutical industry. 7

    In the wake of the 2020 election, Accountable Pharma released a statement alleging that Trump’s threats to fire Anthony Fauci, the controversial National Institutes of Health bureaucrat who became the face of restrictive lockdown measuers, could only be the result of political motivation or revenge for his role in allegedly contradicting what the project called politically motivated claims about the virus. 8

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $106,501,029 $282,241,759 $310,782,035 View
    2023 $139,942,052 $181,353,252 $141,266,886 View
    2022 $86,553,897 $191,548,107 $195,938,700 View
    2021 $97,684,457 $190,651,953 $173,564,342 View
    2020 $85,994,861 $389,684,866 $410,038,247 View

    Prior year filings: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 8

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Amy KurtzPRESIDENT$251,500
    Ryan JohnsonPROJECT DIRECTOR$210,000
    Amy SteinhoffCAMPAIGNS DIRECTOR$186,800
    Patricia KupferCAMPAIGNS DIRECTOR$178,907
    Carl WalzCAMPAIGNS DIRECTOR (THROUGH 12/2/24)$173,868

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $436,178,895
    • Number of Grants: 212
    • Number of Funders: 63

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $86,234,2952020 New Venture FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $58,932,9232024 New Venture FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $34,770,0002022 New Venture FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $27,601,8752023 New Venture FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $27,270,5542021 New Venture FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $8,296,0662024 Hopewell FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $7,024,0002022 Hopewell FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $5,750,0002022 Open Society Action FundTo support nonpartisan policy advocacy in support of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community
    $5,000,0002023 Open Society Action Fundto support non-partisan policy advocacy on election protection
    $5,000,0002021 Open Society Action Fundto support policy advocacy on immigration
    $4,112,7002020 Tides AdvocacyGENERAL SUPPORT
    $4,000,0002022 Open Society Action FundTo support ballot measure activity in priority states
    $3,950,0002021 Open Society Action Fundto support a nonpartisan rural democracy advocacy strategy
    $3,827,0012020 Hopewell FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $3,765,0002023 Open Society Action Fundto support non-partisan policy advocacy on rural engagement
    $3,500,0002024 Bright Future FundGENERAL SUPPORT
    $3,400,0002021 Open Society Action Fundto support nonpartisan policy advocacy around issues of importance to rural communities
    $3,087,6452021 Hopewell FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $3,000,0002023 Open Society Action Fundto support nonpartisan civic engagement and policy advocacy
    $3,000,0002023 Crankstart FoundationTO SUPPORT THE EDUCATION-ONLY EFFORTS OF THE VOTER TURNOUT FUND
    $3,000,0002022 Open Society Action FundTo support the grantee's nonpartisan work on the security and safeguarding of U.S. elections
    $2,750,0002021 Open Society Action Fundto support policy advocacy on structural change opportunities during the first year of the Biden administration
    $2,700,0002021 Open Society Action Fundto support policy advocacy on voting rights and courts reform
    $2,500,0002020 Open Society Action Fundto support policy advocacy on racialized disinformation
    $2,500,0002020 Open Society Action Fundto support policy advocacy on safe voting

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $941,931,508
    • Number of Grants: 1,471
    • Number of Recipients: 751

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $128,976,1472020 America VotesCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $27,850,0002024 America VotesCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $20,658,0002022 America VotesCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $19,390,5842020 North FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $18,915,0002021 League of Conservation Voters IncENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS
    $15,232,0002020 Future Forward USA ActionCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $14,000,0002024 Floridians Protecting FreedomCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $11,796,0002024 League of Conservation Voters IncCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $10,400,0002022 Promote the Vote 2022CIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $10,050,0002020 Defending Democracy TogetherCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $8,750,0002021 Advancing AzCAPACITY BUILDING
    $8,232,2422020 New Venture FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $8,175,0002023 North FundCAPACITY BUILDING
    $8,000,0002024 Institute for Responsive Government IncCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $7,840,0002024 Register AmericaCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $7,700,0002024 Responsive Gov Action IncCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $7,005,0002020 Piedmont Rising IncCAPACITY BUILDING
    $6,943,1212024 Climate Equity Action FundENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS
    $6,800,0002024 North FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $6,705,0002021 The Partnership Project Action FundENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS
    $6,206,5002023 Energy Action FundENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS
    $6,000,0002024 Citizens Not PoliticiansCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $5,930,0002020 Change Now IncCAPACITY BUILDING
    $5,840,0002024 Climate Jobs National Resource Center Action Fund IncENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS
    $5,725,0002022 Reproductive Freedom for AllCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY

    References

    1. “With Drug Pricing Bill Blocked by Senate and White House, Watchdog Group Launches ‘Patients Over Pharma’ Campaign.” Accountable.US, January 10, 2020. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.accountable.us/news/with-drug-pricing-bill-blocked-by-senate-and-white-house-watchdog-group-launches-patients-over-pharma-campaign/.
    2. Accountable.US. “Patients Over Pharma.” Accountable.US. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.accountable.us/pharma/.
    3. “Accountable Pharma Search.” Accountable.US. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.accountable.us/search/accountable pharma/.
    4. “Accountable Pharma Calls for SEC Investigation Into Pfizer CEO Stock Dump; ‘Appears To Be Another Example of a Shameless Pump-and-Dump and Egregious Pandemic Profiteering.’” Accountable.US, November 13, 2020. https://www.accountable.us/news/accountable-pharma-calls-for-sec-investigation-into-pfizer-ceo-stock-dump-appears-to-be-another-example-of-a-shameless-pump-and-dump-and-egregious-pandemic-profiteering/.
    5. Commissioner, Office of the. “Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.” FDA, July 23, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine.
    6. “President Trump’s 9-Month Campaign to Politicize COVID Science & Pressure Public Health Officials.” Accountable.US, October 20, 2020. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.accountable.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Timeline-Of-Trump-Admin-Pressure-Politicization.pdf.
    7. “NEW RESEARCH: PhRMA-Funded Groups Are Boosting Amy Coney Barrett’s SCOTUS Nomination.” Accountable.US, October 14, 2020. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.accountable.us/news/new-research-phrma-funded-groups-are-boosting-amy-coney-barretts-scotus-nomination/.
    8. “Trump Threatens to Fire Dr. Fauci And Public Health Experts.” Accountable.US, November 11, 2020. Accessed July 26, 2021. https://www.accountable.us/news/watchdog-group-calls-for-outgoing-trump-administration-to-back-down-from-threats-to-fire-dr-fauci-other-public-health-experts/.