No evidence Pelosi bought stock in drug manufacturer Amgen

Following a U.S. government purchase of radiation sickness medication, some on social media are claiming that the House speaker could be profiting from the transaction.

One post, shared Oct. 12 on Instagram, showed a screenshot of a tweet that said, "BREAKING Nancy Pelosi purchases 10,000 shares of Amgen, manufacturer of Nplate, a drug used to treat radiation sickness."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it spent $290 million on Nplate, a drug manufactured by Amgen to treat radiation sickness. The department said the purchase was part of long-standing efforts to prepare the country for potential health impacts from threats to national security. Experts said the purchase was not a cause for alarm.

PolitiFact found no evidence that Pelosi, D-Calif., has purchased stock in Amgen. The speaker’s required financial disclosures show no record of the purchase, and Pelosi’s staff said the claim is false.

Under the Ethics in Government Act, members of Congress are required to file periodic transaction reports for every purchase, sale or exchange of stocks or other securities when the transaction exceeds $1,000. (The requirement also covers transactions by a lawmaker’s spouse and dependent children.)

Featured Fact-check

Threads posts

stated on October 23, 2024 in a Threads post

Kamala Harris’ statements about Trump invoking Adolf Hitler were based on a “debunked hoax from The Atlantic.”

The reports must be filed within 30 days of when the member was notified of the transaction, and no later than 45 days after the transaction. Only a range of the value of a transaction must be disclosed.

Pelosi herself does not own any stocks, the speaker’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, told PolitiFact.

Past financial disclosures filed by Pelosi show transactions by her husband, Paul Pelosi. However, no reports since at least 2007 show either Pelosi or her husband purchasing shares of Amgen.

Pelosi and her husband have not been involved in any stock transactions involving Amgen in the last 30 to 45 days, before a disclosure report could be filed, Hammill said.

An Instagram post claimed Pelosi purchased "10,000 shares of Amgen, manufacturer of Nplate, a drug used to treat radiation sickness."

Financial disclosures show no record of such a purchase by Pelosi or her husband. Her staff said the claim is untrue.

We rate this claim False.