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Slaoui, a former pharmaceutical company executive, gave up a position on Moderna’s board when Trump named him to head the president’s reformatted coronavirus task force, now named Operation Warp Speed and aimed at vaccine development. But Slaoui continued to hold more than 155,000 options for Moderna shares, which were reported in required federal financial filings.
According to the HHS statement, Slaoui has “directed the divestiture of his equity holdings in Moderna, and that sale should be effective [Tuesday] morning.” He’ll also “donate to cancer research all incremental value” of the Moderna shares between May 14 — the day before his White House position was announced —and the time of sale.
Moderna’s vaccine is one of eight around the world that have already begun human testing. Slaoui’s financial stake in Moderna threatened to sway his decisions on the task force to benefit his own financial interest, rather than the public interest.
WHO?