During his time as Chairman of Global Research and Development and Chairman of Global Vaccines at GlaxoSmithKline, Dr. Moncef Slaoui led the production of five different novel vaccines. His research covered a range of diseases, from cervical cancer to Ebola and Malaria.
The immunologist and venture capitalist will now turn his expertise to a new task: the novel coronavirus. The Trump Administration announced on March 15, 2020, that Slaoui would head Operation Warp Speed, a dedicated task force designed to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.
Now, Slaoui’s experience will go towards Operation Warp Speed’s goal of developing a COVID-19 vaccine before the end of this year. Slaoui has characterized the goals of development and distribution as both “credible” and “extremely challenging.”
For Dr. Moncef Slaoui, Vaccines are Personal
Dr. Slaoui’s entire career has focused on vaccine development. His interest in this crucial area of medicine stems from a tragic loss: the death of his sister. Slaoui’s sister died of whooping cough, a preventable disease that most Americans receive vaccinations against as infants.
In his career, Slaoui has developed vaccines for cervical cancer and pneumococcal immunization, and received European approval for the world’s first malarial vaccine.
Born in Agadir, Morocco, Slaoui studied molecular biology and immunology in Brussels, earning his PhD in 1983. In addition to a medical degree, he also received an MBA in Switzerland. He then moved to the United States. At this time, he not only taught biology but also joined SmithKline-RIT, which would become GlaxoSmithKline.
After years as a vaccine researcher, he was appointed head of Research and Development at GlaxoSmithKline. He spent about thirty years in this position. Then in 2017, he joined Moderna, another pharma company, and is also a partner at the venture capital firm Medicxi.
Shedding and Donating a Conflict of Interest
The US Department of Health and Human Services describes Operation Warp Speed as “the administration’s national program to accelerate the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics (medical countermeasures).”
Ideally, by January of 2021 the program will have produced enough of a vaccine for mass distribution. Operation Warp Speed is funded by Congress, the National Institutes of Health, and the CARES Act, and will collaborate with the US Department of Defense for distribution.
As chief advisor, Dr. Slaoui holds the primary leadership role for this important endeavor. But at the initial announcement of his appointment, some raised concerns regards his relationship with and stock in Moderna. Senator Elizabeth Warren called it “a huge conflict of interest.”
However, Slaoui wasted no time in shedding these ties. In fact, he resigned from his position on the Board of Directors and sold his 155,000-odd shares in Moderna. He plans to donate the sales to cancer research, according to Fierce Pharma.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel praised Slaoui, saying, “his expertise and skills were invaluable as we approach advanced stages of development across our clinical programs. It has been a privilege to work with Moncef over the last three years.”
Moncef Slaoui Envisions Achievable Goals
Operation Warp Speed’s objectives are optimistic, to say the least. However, Slaoui remarks, “ I am very confident that our team cross the many governmental agencies that are involved in these efforts – the NIH, the CDC, the FDA, ASPR, and, of course, with the support of the Army – and our partners in the private sector, we’ll be able and we’ll to the utmost to deliver these objectives.”
President Trump noted that the vaccine development process may be “risky” and “expensive.” However, he also remarked on the widespread intra- and inter-national collaboration – including working with China. The President has expressed hope for a vaccine by the end of the year, and Slaoui responded that given early clinical data, he feels “even more confident that we will be able to deliver a few hundred million doses of vaccine by the end of 2020.”
For more information, go to Operation Warp Speed’s official page.
