Max Hausermann
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This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation. |
Max Hausermann was a chemist and research administrator for Philip Morris at its Swiss FTR research laboratory in Neuchatel, then as a scientific administrator with Philip Morris Europe based in Lausanne. Later he transferred back to Neuchatel. In these positions he made the Swiss laboratory operations (later run by Helmut Gaisch) the technical center for Philip Morris in Europe.
In late 1981 he became Vice President for R&D in Richmond Virginia, for the American domestic company [1]
Hausermann has a dual reputation: he was an important organiser of many of the scams and anti-science projects the company ran in Europe as well as being responsible for their legitimate research efforts.
Documents & Timeline
Born and educated in Zurich.
1950 PhD in Organic Chemistry
1950 worked with Fluka, a chemical manufacturer.
1951-56 Working at Nestle on instant coffee
1956 Joined FTR which was then a small cigarette maker in Neuchatel. He was only lab scientist.
1963 FTR became the technical center for PM Europe
1963-65 Hausermann is a research chemist with FTR in Switzerland. [2]
1966 Mar 11 Writing to a BAT scientist asking for definitions of tobacco terms. [3]
1968 Apr 29 Hausermann is now clearly in charge of the FTR lab at Neuchatel. Tom Osdene and Raymond Fagan (Deputy Dir US research lab) have visited to inspect the laboratory and factory. The laboratory is relatively new and was only partly equipped, and they are planning inhalation studies. They still have not found a laboratory director. Previously work was farmed out to a local university. Philip Morris must have been in part control of FTR since manuscripts from the lab needed to be cleared by the PM Legal Department in New York. [4]
- Hausermann is listed in 1969 as Director of Research and Quality Control, FTR.
1969 Jan 6 Thomas Osdene, the Director of Research for PM in the USA, has been talking to Hausermann by phone about a reported finding of the husband/wife research team of Cecile and Rudolph Leuchtenbergers. They have apparently found lung tumours produced in test mice, and Osdene has "Asked him to discretely find answer two two questions (He said he would call the Leuchtenbergers privately tonight)" [5]
- The Leuchtenbergers (Lusanne) were secretly funded by the tobacco industry (TIRC.CTR) and it was tacitly understood that they would never release such information without first discussing it seriously with their industry funders.
1969 Jun 24 Max Hausermann is at the head of R&D at FTR in Switzerland, dealing with Helmut Wakeman his superior in Richmond, on a "Dear Wake" basis. [6]
1969 Dec 16Correspondence between the USA and Switzerland shows that Max Hausermann is now involved in Research & Development at the FTR factory in Neuchatel, and is also involved in negotiating the secret purchase of INBIFO laboratories in Cologne. Currently ithe laboratory is run by Ulrich Hackenberg, under the ownership of TRW. [7]
1970 Sep Philip Morris Germany joined the Verband der Cigaretten Industrie [8]
1972 May Gaisch is dealing directly with Tom Osdene, although all official reports pass through Max Hausermann at PME. [9]
1972-73 GAISCH TAKES OVER FTR LABORATORIES. HAUSERMANN SHIFTS TO PM EUROPE in Lausanne.
1973Hausermann is Director of Industrial Services PME. [10]
1974 Jul 8 Max Hausermann is now running Philip Morris Europe's Industrial Service Department at Brillancourt in Lausanne. Helmut Gaisch is being ccd at FTR. [11] However the change must have been recent because others are still addressing Hausermann at FTR, [12]
1975 July 14 Robert Seligman visits Max Hausermann in Switzerland. He is now Director of Research with PME at Brillancourt. Lausanne -- not FTR in Neuchatel. [13] [14]
1976 Hausermann, still holding the position at PME, is transferred physically back to Neuchatel from Lausanne.
1977 March 31 Hausermann was at the head of PME R&D in Neuchatel. However Helmut Gaisch at S&T FTR has suggested in a letter to subordinates, that, if they need pesticide residue analysis, they send the samples directly to INBIFO. Robert Seligman in New York objects:
This suggested procedure is in direct conflict with our communications from the New York Office, We have gone to great pains to eliminate any written contact with INBIFO, and I would like to maintain this structure.
Seligman was advising his executives and scientists to send any sample to PME in Neuchatel, and they should then trans-ship them to INBIFO. Alternately they could consider setting up a "dummy" mailing address in Koln. The analytical data will need to be routed back through FTR also.
He was also returning his copies of Gaisch's letter to scrub his files, and he suggested to Hausermann that they do the same. [15]
1979 Hausermann became Philip Morris International's Vice President, Research and Development for PM EEMA (Europe, Middle East, Africa)
1981 June 22 He was still VP R&D PM Europe at Neuchatel. [16]
1981 Sept Hausermann was made Vice President, R&D at PM USA. He is based now in Richmond Virginia. He appears to be taking over from Robert B Seligman [17] [18]
1982 Oct-Dec Max Hausermann (at that time in the USA at Richmond) has been given a study by Victor J DeNoble et al for presentation at a Virginia symposium on Nicotine. It is in fact confirmation that nicotine is addictive. The lawyers at Philip Morris led by Alexander Holtzman have clamped down on publication, but not on the speech. [19]
- Two years later Philip Morris abruptly closed down his research laboratory and destroyed most of the records.
1983 Jan 7 Max Hausermann is now VP R&D at the Philip Morris Research Center in Richmond, Virginia. He is writing to Dr. Ray Dawson a semi-retired consulting toxicologist or tobacco chemist living now in Florida. Dawson has been making some suggestions (and sent a parcel) about what is probably the development of a electronic cigarette (which is essentially just a nicotine inhaler + flavours).
The letter and attachments have been copied to Hausermann's associates, William A Farone and LF Meyer, and to the overall Director of Research Tom Osdene. [20] [21] Dawson is paid $2,591 consulting fees for making a visit to the lab in March. He charges $600 a day and expenses. [22] [23] [24]
- Note: Bill Farone worked with Victor DeNoble on nicotine addiction and both turned whistleblower many years later.
References
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