Moncef Slaoui, the former GlaxoSmithKline research boss who became the Trump administration’s vaccine tsar, has been accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct towards an employee during his time at the UK drugmaker.
GSK on Wednesday said an investigation by a law firm had substantiated the allegations, which involved incidents that occurred several years ago. The probe is ongoing.
Following the allegations, Slaoui, who led research and development at GSK until 2017, has been terminated from his remaining post at the company, chair of the board of its subsidiary Galvani Bioelectronics, a joint venture with Alphabet’s Verily. The company will also rename its vaccines R&D facility, which had been named after Slaoui.
GSK is reviewing Slaoui’s stock options, which last year were reported to be worth about $10m. He had refused to give them up when joining Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine development programme, arguing that they were his retirement savings.
Slaoui said he would like to apologise “unreservedly” to the employee concerned and was “deeply sorry” for any distress caused. He added he was taking a leave of absence from his professional responsibilities.
“I have the utmost respect for my colleagues and feel terrible that my actions have put a former colleague in an uncomfortable situation,” he said. “I will work hard to redeem myself with all those that this situation has impacted.”
Emma Walmsley, GSK’s chief executive, wrote a letter to employees saying the company had received a letter detailing the allegations in February. She said she was “shocked” and “angry”.
“Since February, the highest levels of our company have been working to understand and address what happened,” she wrote. “Protecting the woman who came forward and her privacy has been a critical priority throughout this time. This will continue. I respect and admire her courage and strength. I’ve spent many nights lately putting myself in her shoes. More than anything, this simply should not have happened.”
GSK hired Grace Speights, a partner at Washington-based law firm Morgan Lewis, to lead the investigation. Speights is known for her high-profile work in workplace misconduct cases, particularly in the era of #MeToo.
The company said in a statement that Slaoui’s behaviour was “wholly unacceptable”.
“They represent an abuse of his leadership position, violate company policies, and are contrary to the strong values that define GSK’s culture,” it said.
Operation Warp Speed was praised as a bright spot in the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. But the project was wrapped up after the Biden administration took over, as the focus shifted to rolling out vaccines. The White House and the health and human services department did not respond to a request for comment.
Recently, Slaoui became the chief scientific officer of Centessa, a biotech roll-up created from 10 companies backed by Medicxi, a European venture capital group where he is a partner. Neither Centessa nor Medicxi responded to a request for comment.
Christopher Corsico, a senior vice-president at GSK and a current member of the Galvani board, will replace Slaoui as chair. Amy Altshul, senior vice-president of legal, R&D and global commercial franchises at GSK, has also been appointed to the board.
Additional reporting by Kiran Stacey in Washington