Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker, who is overseeing pre-trial hearings for Luigi Mangione, is married to a former Pfizer executive and holds hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock, including in healthcare companies and pharmaceutical companies, according to her 2023 financial disclosures.
The judge’s ties to the healthcare business are a stark reminder of how pervasive the for-profit industry is in American life — a point made by Mangione himself.
Parker’s husband, Bret Parker, left Pfizer in 2010, where he served as Vice President and assistant general counsel after holding the same titles at Wyeth, a pharmaceutical manufacturer purchased by Pfizer. According to Parker’s disclosures, her husband Bret still collects a pension from his time at Pfizer in the form of a Senior Executive Retirement Plan, or SERP.
Pfizer, the largest pharmaceutical company by revenue ($58.5 billion in 2023), is known for manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine.
The company has also had its share of controversies, including paying out hundreds of millions of dollars to settle multiple illegal marketing accusations. Pfizer spends millions on grants and research funds to universities researching everything from heart disease to emerging mRNA applications. Judge Parker holds between $50,000 and $100,000 in Pfizer.
Parker also holds scattered interests in pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare companies like Abbott Laboratories, the owner of St. Jude Medical. Abbot has drawn criticism in recent years for manufacturing tainted and toxic baby formula, fraudulently billing Medicaid for glucose monitors, and selling faulty deep brain stimulation devices.
Parker also has stakes in pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device investments like Viatris, Intellia Therapeutics, Ase Technology, and Crispr Therapeutics. Park’s holdings in other top tier companies are detailed below.
