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Donald Trump’s justice department is investigating claims that Pfizer delayed positive news about its Covid-19 vaccine until after the 2020 election.
Federal prosecutors are reportedly examining allegations from GSK (GSK.L), Pfizer’s (PFE) British rival, that the US company kept details about the success of its vaccine secret.
Pfizer announced the results of its clinical trials on Nov 9 2020, six days after the presidential election and two days after Joe Biden was declared the winner, paving the way for millions of people to receive protection against Covid.
Mr Trump has accused Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech (BNTX) of helping Mr Biden win the election, saying “they didn’t have the courage to do it before” the vote.
The US attorney’s office in New York is reportedly examining the claims after being alerted by GSK. The company told prosecutors that a former employee, hired from Pfizer, had disclosed to GSK executives that Pfizer delayed the vaccine announcement. The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Philip Dormitzer, Pfizer’s chief scientist for viral and RNA vaccines, had a key role developing the vaccine, which was the first to be authorised in the West.
He moved to GSK in 2021 as head of vaccines R&D, a prominent hire after the company’s struggles to develop its own Covid-19 jab.
GSK reportedly told prosecutors that Mr Dormitzer claimed Pfizer knew of the Covid vaccine’s effectiveness before the 2020 election, but held the news back, potentially helping Mr Biden. The Manhattan office has interviewed two people, including a GSK executive, the WSJ reported.
Mr Dormitzer, who left GSK in December, denied that he had made the comments.
“My Pfizer colleagues and I did everything we could to get the FDA’s [Federal Drug Administration’s] emergency use authorisation at the very first possible moment,” he said.
“Any other interpretation of my comments about the pace of the vaccine’s development would be incorrect.”
Pfizer said it had not been contacted about the investigation and called the claims “utter nonsense”.