Moncef Slaoui, a former GlaxoSmithKline executive, speaks to President Donald J. Trump during a vaccine development event at the White House’s Rose Garden on Friday, May 15, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Moncef Slaoui, who led Covid’s vaccination development efforts under the Trump administration, said on Wednesday that he “deeply regretted” a woman whose allegation of sexual harassment led him to resign earlier in the day as president of a company supported by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.
Slaoui also said he is taking leave from other health care companies and a venture capital firm to focus on his family, to whom he has also apologized.
Slaoui, who spent 30 years at GSK, was chief scientist for Operation Warp Speed, the United States government’s project to develop vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday, GSK said its board dismissed the 61-year-old man as president of Galvani Bioelectronics because of “proven” allegations that he sexually harassed and misbehaved with a GSK employee several years ago. GSK is the majority shareholder of Galvani.
The woman made the accusations in a letter sent to GSK in February. A law firm hired by the pharmaceutical company Morgan, Lewis & Bokius continues to investigate its allegations.
“It is with deep regret that I acknowledge GlaxoSmithKline plc’s statement today about my termination as chairman of the Galvani Board of Directors,” said Slaoui in a statement on Wednesday.
“I have the utmost respect for my colleagues and I feel terrible that my actions have put an ex-colleague in an uncomfortable situation. I would like to apologize without reservation to the employee in question and I am deeply sorry for any suffering caused,” he said.
“I would also like to apologize to my wife and family for the pain this is causing,” said Slaoui.
“I will work hard to redeem myself with all those that this situation has affected,” he said.
Slaoiui is married to Kristen Slaoui, who previously served as vice president and head of business development at GSK.
GSK issued a condemnatory statement on Slaoui when announcing his resignation from Galvani.
“Dr. Slaoui’s behavior is totally unacceptable,” wrote GSK, who is removing Slaoui’s name from his vaccine research center in Rockville, Maryland.
The company also said that Slaoui’s actions “represent an abuse of his leadership position, violate company policies and are contrary to the strong values that define the GSK culture”.
“The company expects everyone at GSK to behave according to their values, especially their leaders, where their standards are the highest.”
GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, in a separate letter to employees, said she was “shocked and irritated by all of this, but I am determined”.
“I want to make it clear that sexual harassment is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated,” wrote Walmsley.
“Protecting the woman who came forward and her privacy was a critical priority over this time. This will continue, ”wrote Walmsley. “I respect and admire her courage and strength. I spent many nights putting myself in her shoes. More than anything, it simply shouldn’t have happened.”
Galvani is a medical research company focused on the development of bioelectronic drugs for the treatment of chronic diseases. It was formed through a partnership between GSK and Verily Life Sciences, formerly known as Google Life Sciences. Verily is a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
Slaoui last month joined Centessa Pharmaceuticals as a scientific director and consultant.
Centessa was founded by the venture capital firm Medicxi. Slaoui has been a partner with Medicxi since 2017.
Slaoui is also chairman of the board of directors of the vaccine company Vaxcyte.
A spokeswoman for GSK, when asked if the company would share details of its investigation of Slaoui with other companies to which he is affiliated, said: “We are not sharing anything beyond what we have said publicly at this time.”