Democrats Seek Details on Moncef Slaoui’s Operation Warp Speed Contract

Three ranking Democrats have asked a Virginia-based consulting firm to reveal details of its government contract for Operation Warp Speed’s chief adviser Moncef Slaoui, citing concerns that the contract allows the former pharma executive to skirt ethics rules and avoid disclosing potential conflicts of interest.

A former board member of Moderna — which has secured a $1.5 billion contract from Operation Warp Speed to develop a COVID-19 vacccine — Slaoui resigned from the board and sold his stock upon his appointment as head of the initiative.

But concerns over possible conflicts of interest have persisted. In a letter to Advanced Decision Vectors (ADV), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) have asked the company to disclose what payment and benefits the former GlaxoSmithKline vaccine leader is receiving for his role as head of Operation Warp Speed (OWS), what he is specifically doing for the project and what provisions are in place to address his potential conflicts of interest.

They also asked the company to explain its involvement in the contract, noting that its role is unclear. The three Democrats had previously determined that the government issued a $1 contract for Slaoui to Advanced Decision Vectors.

 “HHS confirmation of this unusual arrangement raises a number of questions. It is not at all clear what ADV’s role is in this contract nor is it clear how it is in the company’s interest to serve as the middleman in a scheme that appears to be designed solely to allow a high-level scientist involved in OWS to avoid addressing his serious financial conflicts of interest,” the Democrats wrote.

The lawmakers have given the consulting firm until Sept. 7 to respond with answers to their questions and to provide an unredacted copy of the contract.

Advanced Decision Vectors did not respond to a request for comment.

Read the letter here: www.fdanews.com/08-26-20-Letter.pdf. — James Miessler