Donald Trump has ties to drugmaker Regeneron -- and now its stock is surging

Trump's team revealed Friday that the president received the drug, called REGN-COV2, which is being used to alleviate symptoms and reduce viral load. Shares of Regeneron surged 7% Monday, bringing the stock's year-to-date gain to more than 60%. The stock reached its highs of the day after Trump tweeted that he will be leaving the hospital Monday evening.

Regeneron CEO Dr. Leonard Schleifer and President Trump are acquainted: The CEO has been a member at Trump's golf club in Westchester, New York, and his company also received $450 million in government funding in July as part of the president's Operation Warp Speed plan to quickly develop a vaccine and other treatments for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Trump also recently owned shares of Regeneron -- as well as Gilead Sciences, maker of the antiviral drug remdesivir that the president is also taking. Both stocks were listed as assets on Trump's 2017 filing with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.

"Len and President Trump are acquaintances from both living in the Westchester area for many years but didn't have any regular contact until this year, when they've discussed matters around Covid on occasion," Regeneron said in a statement.

According to Forbes, Schleifer is now worth $2.5 billion, up from $2.1 billion in the middle of March. Schleifer primarily donated to Democratic political candidates and PACs in the 2016 and 2018 elections, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Regeneron is one of many biotechs and Big Pharma firms that has skyrocketed on hopes that it may be able to quickly develop an effective coronavirus treatment. The company started human trials for its antibody cocktail in June and began a phase 3 trial just a month later.

It has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, however. The FDA can approve the administration of it through so-called compassionate use requests on an individual basis. Regeneron confirmed that one of the president's doctors made such a request to Regeneron and the FDA to approve administering the drug to Trump.

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