Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has bailed on testifying before the European Parliament’s special committee, where he was ordered to answer questions over illegal vaccine deals, according to reports.
Bourla was scheduled to appear before the panel on Oct. 10, alongside key officials involved in the EUs vaccine procurement process. According to Politico, “Other pharmaceutical executives have addressed the committee, including the CEO of Moderna and senior officials from AstraZeneca and Sanofi.”
Summit.news reports: Bourla? Not so much.
In early September, an audit repirt into the EU’s vaccine procurement strategy raised questions over Bourla’s relationship with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before they struck a multibillion-euro vaccine deal.
In April, von der Leyen admitted that she had been texting with Bourla for a month straight while they were negotiating the massive contract. Two months later, the texts disappeared, triggering accusations of maladministration by the EU’s ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly,” Reuters reported at the time.
Bourla and von der Leyen’s cozy relationship was noted last year by the NYT, which Bourla told they had “developed a deep trust, because we got into deep discussions.”
“She knew details about the variants, she knew details about everything. So that made the discussion, way more engaged.”
And now Bourla won’t have to answer questions about it.
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