Moncef Slaoui, former scientific director of vaccine development COVID-19 a Warp Operation Speed during the Trump administration, he has been fired from a GlaxoSmithKline joint venture for allegations of sexual harassment, the drug maker said Wednesday.
GSK learned of the claims against Slaoui in February and hired an outside law firm, Morgan Lewis, to investigate, the company announced. The investigation “confirmed the allegations and is ongoing,” GSK said. The behavior “occurred several years ago when I was a GSK employee,” the company said in a statement.
Slaoui is removed from his chair as chairman of the board of Galvani Bioelectronics, a joint venture between GSK and Verily Life Sciences. The medical research company focuses on the development of bioelectronic drugs to treat chronic diseases.
“Dr. Slaoui’s behaviors are totally unacceptable,” GSK said. “They represent an abuse of their leadership position, violate company policies and run counter to the strong values that define GSK’s culture.”
Slaoui expressed his “deep regret” at acknowledging his cessation. “I have the utmost respect for my colleagues and I feel terrible that my actions have put a former colleague in an awkward situation,” he said in an emailed statement to CBS MoneyWatch. “I would like to apologize unreservedly to the employee in question,” said Slaoui, who added that he would take a leave of absence to focus on his family.
Appointed as chief scientist of Operation Warp Speed by then-President Donald Trump last May, Slaoui left that role in January and worked briefly as an adviser to the Biden Administration.
He recently told CBS’s Face the Nation that he didn’t regret working with the Trump administration, but that he considered it a big mistake to turn a public health issue into a political issue. “A lot of people have probably died or suffered because the whole situation became so political that emotions outweighed rationality,” Slaoui said. “The only thing that matters is that we have vaccines and I’m glad he was part of the team to help us get it.”
Slaoui worked at GSK for almost 30 years and, from 2006 to 2017, oversaw research and development and subsequently coronavirus vaccines.
He recently launched a new company, Centessa Pharmaceuticals.