Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has slammed COVID-19 vaccine czar Moncef Slaoui’s “huge conflict of interest” after required federal filings revealed he holds $10 million in stock options in one of the companies working to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
Warren demanded that Slaoui “divest immediately.”
Slaoui, a former pharmaceutical executive, was named “chief scientist” on Friday for President Donald Trump’s “Operation Warp Speed,” a COVID-19 vaccine development operation. In order to take the new role, he stepped down from his position on the board of directors of biotech company Moderna Inc., which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But Slaoui still owns 155,000 Moderna stock options, totaling more than $10 million as of Friday, according to Business Insider.
Slaoui’s economic interest in the company could influence government support for Moderna over other companies that may be more successful in their hunt for a vaccine.
Moderna last month announced that it received $483 million in federal funding for vaccine development, which sent its stocks up 15%, CNBC reported.
When he was introduced on Friday by Trump in a Rose Garden press briefing, Slaoui said the president’s aim to have a vaccine by the end of the year was “credible,” though it would be “extremely challenging.”
Slaoui said he was “more confident” after seeing “early data from a clinical trial.” He did not name which company was conducting the trial. But health publication Stat News said that it was probably Moderna, the company Slaoui stands to profit from, because he likely had access to that information. Moderna’s experimental coronavirus vaccine just entered Phase 2 of clinical trials, The New York Times reported.
Slaoui could not immediately be reach for comment by HuffPost.
A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus
- Stay up to date with our live blog as we cover the COVID-19 pandemic
- What you need to know about face masks right now
- How long are asymptomatic carriers contagious?
- Lost your job due to coronavirus? Here’s what you need to know.
- How to switch off from work when home is your office
- 8 sleep tips if coronavirus anxiety is keeping you up at night
- How long does coronavirus live in the air?
- The HuffPost guide to working from home
- What coronavirus questions are on your mind right now? We want to help you find answers.
- Everyone deserves accurate information about COVID-19. Support journalism without a paywall — and keep it free for everyone — by becoming a HuffPost member today
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.