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Former Operation Warp Speed chief Moncef Slaoui has apologized to a woman whose claim of sexual harassment has led to his dismissal as chairman of a company owned by GlaxoSmithKline.
In a letter released, Wednesday, the Moroccan-American scientist said that he «feels terrible that [his] actions have put a former colleague in an uncomfortable situation».
«I would like to apologize unreservedly to the employee concerned and I am deeply sorry for any distress caused», he wrote.
In the same letter, Slaoui announced that he «will work hard to redeem [himself] with all those that this situation has impacted» and that he is taking a «leave of absence from [his] current professional responsibilities effective immediately to focus on [his] family.
Saloui’s letter comes after British multinational pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced his firing over sexual harassment claims.
The dismissal of Slaoui was decided after the pharmaceutical firm received in February a letter «containing allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct towards an employee of GSK by Dr. Slaoui».
According to GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, the allegations «occurred several years ago when he [Slaoui] was an employee of GSK». The firm initiated an investigation with an experienced law firm, overseen by the Board.
For the record, Slaoui had worked for GSK for 30 years. He worked on overseeing vaccine development at the pharmaceutical giant and helped develop vaccines to prevent childhood rotavirus gastroenteritis, cervical cancer and shingles.
