Federal agencies under Dr. Anthony Fauci’s leadership obtained hundreds of millions in pharmaceutical royalties during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to an investigation by the nonprofit government watchdog Open the Books, pharmaceutical and health care firms paid over $710 million to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which Fauci led from 1984 to 2022, was the recipient of more than $690 million, accounting for 97 percent of the total $710 million. According to the group, these payments to NIAID represent a two-year average that is 175 times higher than the average of less than $5 million reported over the previous decade.
“NIH and N[I]AID wasted countless taxpayer dollars illegally resisting the requirement to inform taxpayers about the usage of their tax dollars,” Open the Books reported. “In the next two years — 2022 and 2023 — Fauci’s institute amassed the equivalent of 175 years’ worth of NIAID royalty payments. Nearly $690 million in just two years compared to $23.9 million over 12 years.”
Fauci’s deputies in the NIH have recently faced congressional scrutiny for attempting to avoid accountability under federal transparency laws through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Last month, NIH Senior Advisor Dr. David Morens laughed off lawmakers’ questions related to exchanges mentioning a “‘secret’ back channel” to communicate with Dr. Fauci. According to a memo released by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, new documents suggest Morens improperly deleted records, colluded with government officials to avoid transparency requests, and used private email for government business.
“I was not aware that anything I deleted like emails was a federal record,” Morens said on Capitol Hill.
Fauci himself denied ever using private email for government business when testifying before lawmakers on Monday in his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since 2022.
“I do not conduct government business on my private email,” Fauci stated, denying any “back channel” communication with colleagues.
The former NIAID director also denied receiving substantial pharmaceutical royalties connected to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I received, I think, $122 for a monoclonal antibody I developed 27 years ago,” Fauci told the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Beyond that, Fauci claimed, he received “zero” of the $690 million in royalties.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis: How much in royalties have you received from Big Pharma since 2021?
Dr. Fauci: Zero.
Malliotakis: You are saying you didn’t receive any of the $710 million the NIH received?
Fauci: On covid, I got $122 for a monoclonal antibody I created 27 years ago. pic.twitter.com/PXRJcTKuzZ
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) June 3, 2024
Open the Books reported that the names of the recipients of almost 5,000 royalty payments remain redacted. Nearly all names were hidden from the public until the nonprofit watchdog sued for transparency compliance.
“The exemptions cited under FOIA law justifying the redactions, (b)(4), protect ‘from disclosure trade secrets and commercial or financial information that is privileged and confidential,’” Open the Books reported. “Why the names of NIH scientists are considered ‘confidential’ or ‘trade secrets’ remains unclear.”
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Fauci frequently dismissed critics of his comprehensive lockdown measures, characterized as dystopian. He denounced the Great Barrington Declaration, an open letter from leading scientists challenging lockdowns, as “invalid, both conceptually and practically,” and called accusations that he suppressed the lab-leak theory of origin “preposterous.”
