Ex-Warp Speed chief exits two more drug companies

Former Operation Warp Speed chief Moncef Slaoui has left two more drug companies amid allegations of sexual harassment.

Centessa Pharmaceuticals announced on Thursday that Slaoui stepped down as the company’s chief scientific officer effective immediately amid the allegations of sexual harassment toward an employee at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The startup company had recently launched in February.

Vaxcyte disclosed in an SEC filing on Wednesday that Slaoui resigned as chair of the the company’s board effective immediately. The company said it requested Slaoui’s resignations as soon as it was made aware of the allegation.

The company said in a statement to The Hill that it is “committed to maintaining the highest standards of business conduct and ethics, including a safe and inclusive workplace.”

The announcement comes a day after GSK terminated him from the board of directors of Galvani Bioelectrics, a medical device startup that GSK runs in partnership with Google’s spinoff Verily.

GSK said on Wednesday that it received a letter of “allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct towards an employee of GSK by Dr. Slaoui, which occurred several years ago when he was an employee of GSK.”

The company further said that it immediately initiated an investigation, which substantiated the allegations. The investigation has not closed.

Sloui apologized on Wednesday after he was fired from Galvani, saying, “I would like to apologise unreservedly to the employee concerned and I am deeply sorry for any distress caused.”

Slaoui worked for GSK for 30 years until he left in 2017. While at GSK, he ran its vaccine business, as well as its global research and development businesses.

Slaoui joined Operation Warp Speed in May 2020 and resigned in January.