SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Moncef Slaoui, former head of GlaxoSmithKline's vaccine division, has reportedly been named to lead "Operation Warp Speed," the Trump administration's program aimed at developing a Covid-19 vaccine. (Photo: C-Span)
Government Watchdog Sounds Alarm Over Appointment of Former Pharma Executive to Trump's Covid-19 Vaccine Task Force
"If the Trump administration approaches vaccine development as it has Covid-19 prevention, testing and treatment, the world may be in for years of more extraordinary pain," said Public Citizen.
May 14, 2020
Government watchdog Public Citizen on Thursday condemned the Trump administration's reported appointment of a former pharmaceutical executive to the White House's task force aimed at swiftly developing a Covid-19 vaccine as another example of the White House putting management of the pandemic in the hands of private industry.
The administration named Moncef Slaoui, former head of GlaxoSmithKline's vaccine division and a venture capitalist in the pharmaceutical field, to act as chief adviser for the program, called "Operation Warp Speed."
Slaoui worked at GlaxoSmithKline for 30 years until 2017, and since then has sat on the boards of a number of pharmaceutical firms which are now researching potential vaccines for the coronavirus--leaving the former executive with what Public Citizen called "blatant financial conflicts of interest."
Currently a partner at pharmaceutical investment firm Medicxi, Slaoui has earned $490,000 as a board member at Moderna, Inc. and also sits on the board of Lonza Group AG, a Swiss company which is contracting with Moderna to find a Covid-19 vaccine. His former employer, GlaxoSmithKine, is also working to develop an immunization.
According to Bloomberg, Slaoui plans to leave the boards that he currently sits on, but Public Citizen demanded confirmation from the former executive that he will commit to finding a vaccine that is made available globally, regardless of the profits his companies stand to lose or gain.
Slaoui's current and former positions in the pharmaceutical industry should "disqualify" him," said Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines program, "unless he commits immediately to global vaccine access conditions over the obvious profit interests of the corporations he serves."
"If the Trump administration approaches vaccine development as it has Covid-19 prevention, testing, and treatment, the world may be in for years of more extraordinary pain," Maybarduk added. "The dangers of global vaccine rationing are profound. No one corporation has the capacity to deliver a vaccine to all the world's people."
Earlier this week, Public Citizen noted, Slaoui denied to Politico that he was being considered for the administration's program, saying, "I'm the same venture capitalist you talked to last week."
Now, said Maybarduk, Slaoui must prove the opposite is true.
\u201cTrump's vaccine czar Moncef Slaoui needs to prove that he is not \u2013 in his words \u2013 the same pharma venture capitalist he was last week. (1/4) @Public_Citizen #warpspeed\u201d— Peter Maybarduk (@Peter Maybarduk) 1589407650
With Operation Warp Speed, the administration plans to bring together pharmaceutical companies and government agencies to cut the development time for a Covid-19 vaccine by several months, with officials hoping an immunization will be developed by the end of 2020.
In March, Trump's FDA came under fire for awarding monopoly status to Gilead Sciences for Remdesivir, a drug it was developing for Covid-19 treatment. The company backed off its claim after a pressure campaign led by Public Citizen.
"The U.S. government must commit to sharing clinical trial data, patents, and know-how among manufacturers and with the world, to quickly achieve the mountainous scale of production that humanity needs," the group said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Government watchdog Public Citizen on Thursday condemned the Trump administration's reported appointment of a former pharmaceutical executive to the White House's task force aimed at swiftly developing a Covid-19 vaccine as another example of the White House putting management of the pandemic in the hands of private industry.
The administration named Moncef Slaoui, former head of GlaxoSmithKline's vaccine division and a venture capitalist in the pharmaceutical field, to act as chief adviser for the program, called "Operation Warp Speed."
Slaoui worked at GlaxoSmithKline for 30 years until 2017, and since then has sat on the boards of a number of pharmaceutical firms which are now researching potential vaccines for the coronavirus--leaving the former executive with what Public Citizen called "blatant financial conflicts of interest."
Currently a partner at pharmaceutical investment firm Medicxi, Slaoui has earned $490,000 as a board member at Moderna, Inc. and also sits on the board of Lonza Group AG, a Swiss company which is contracting with Moderna to find a Covid-19 vaccine. His former employer, GlaxoSmithKine, is also working to develop an immunization.
According to Bloomberg, Slaoui plans to leave the boards that he currently sits on, but Public Citizen demanded confirmation from the former executive that he will commit to finding a vaccine that is made available globally, regardless of the profits his companies stand to lose or gain.
Slaoui's current and former positions in the pharmaceutical industry should "disqualify" him," said Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines program, "unless he commits immediately to global vaccine access conditions over the obvious profit interests of the corporations he serves."
"If the Trump administration approaches vaccine development as it has Covid-19 prevention, testing, and treatment, the world may be in for years of more extraordinary pain," Maybarduk added. "The dangers of global vaccine rationing are profound. No one corporation has the capacity to deliver a vaccine to all the world's people."
Earlier this week, Public Citizen noted, Slaoui denied to Politico that he was being considered for the administration's program, saying, "I'm the same venture capitalist you talked to last week."
Now, said Maybarduk, Slaoui must prove the opposite is true.
\u201cTrump's vaccine czar Moncef Slaoui needs to prove that he is not \u2013 in his words \u2013 the same pharma venture capitalist he was last week. (1/4) @Public_Citizen #warpspeed\u201d— Peter Maybarduk (@Peter Maybarduk) 1589407650
With Operation Warp Speed, the administration plans to bring together pharmaceutical companies and government agencies to cut the development time for a Covid-19 vaccine by several months, with officials hoping an immunization will be developed by the end of 2020.
In March, Trump's FDA came under fire for awarding monopoly status to Gilead Sciences for Remdesivir, a drug it was developing for Covid-19 treatment. The company backed off its claim after a pressure campaign led by Public Citizen.
"The U.S. government must commit to sharing clinical trial data, patents, and know-how among manufacturers and with the world, to quickly achieve the mountainous scale of production that humanity needs," the group said.
Government watchdog Public Citizen on Thursday condemned the Trump administration's reported appointment of a former pharmaceutical executive to the White House's task force aimed at swiftly developing a Covid-19 vaccine as another example of the White House putting management of the pandemic in the hands of private industry.
The administration named Moncef Slaoui, former head of GlaxoSmithKline's vaccine division and a venture capitalist in the pharmaceutical field, to act as chief adviser for the program, called "Operation Warp Speed."
Slaoui worked at GlaxoSmithKline for 30 years until 2017, and since then has sat on the boards of a number of pharmaceutical firms which are now researching potential vaccines for the coronavirus--leaving the former executive with what Public Citizen called "blatant financial conflicts of interest."
Currently a partner at pharmaceutical investment firm Medicxi, Slaoui has earned $490,000 as a board member at Moderna, Inc. and also sits on the board of Lonza Group AG, a Swiss company which is contracting with Moderna to find a Covid-19 vaccine. His former employer, GlaxoSmithKine, is also working to develop an immunization.
According to Bloomberg, Slaoui plans to leave the boards that he currently sits on, but Public Citizen demanded confirmation from the former executive that he will commit to finding a vaccine that is made available globally, regardless of the profits his companies stand to lose or gain.
Slaoui's current and former positions in the pharmaceutical industry should "disqualify" him," said Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines program, "unless he commits immediately to global vaccine access conditions over the obvious profit interests of the corporations he serves."
"If the Trump administration approaches vaccine development as it has Covid-19 prevention, testing, and treatment, the world may be in for years of more extraordinary pain," Maybarduk added. "The dangers of global vaccine rationing are profound. No one corporation has the capacity to deliver a vaccine to all the world's people."
Earlier this week, Public Citizen noted, Slaoui denied to Politico that he was being considered for the administration's program, saying, "I'm the same venture capitalist you talked to last week."
Now, said Maybarduk, Slaoui must prove the opposite is true.
\u201cTrump's vaccine czar Moncef Slaoui needs to prove that he is not \u2013 in his words \u2013 the same pharma venture capitalist he was last week. (1/4) @Public_Citizen #warpspeed\u201d— Peter Maybarduk (@Peter Maybarduk) 1589407650
With Operation Warp Speed, the administration plans to bring together pharmaceutical companies and government agencies to cut the development time for a Covid-19 vaccine by several months, with officials hoping an immunization will be developed by the end of 2020.
In March, Trump's FDA came under fire for awarding monopoly status to Gilead Sciences for Remdesivir, a drug it was developing for Covid-19 treatment. The company backed off its claim after a pressure campaign led by Public Citizen.
"The U.S. government must commit to sharing clinical trial data, patents, and know-how among manufacturers and with the world, to quickly achieve the mountainous scale of production that humanity needs," the group said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.