Trump Vaccine Czar Makes $3.4M Windfall As Firm Reports Progress On Coronavirus Shot And Stock Soars

A controversial biotech firm is claiming early positive progress on its trial of a coranavirus vaccine — giving a massive financial boost to President Trump’s newly minted vaccine czar. The report sent Moderna stock soaring by up to 34% in pre-market trading Monday. It was trading up a more modest 22% by midmorning. The stock spike temporarily added at least $3.4 million to the bottom line of Moncef Slaoui, the just-named vaccine czar who was on the board of Moderna until his appointment. Slaoui, a veteran Big Pharma exec, holds 156,000 stock options that increased in value by more than $3 million on the Monday morning news. Ethics experts called the lucrative morning for Slaoui a prime example of why he should not be making decisions about winners and losers in the coronavirus vaccine race.


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