Watchdog group exposes Fauci and NIH scientists receiving royalties from taxpayer-funded inventions.
Newly Released Documents Reveal Controversial Royalty Payments to NIH Scientists
Startling revelations have emerged from recently unredacted documents, shedding light on third-party royalties paid to National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists, including the renowned Dr. Anthony Fauci, both before and after the pandemic. These findings have ignited a fresh wave of questions surrounding Fauci’s statements made during congressional hearings.
The transparency watchdog, OpenTheBooks, has made public over 1,500 pages of records, exposing the fact that not only did NIH leadership receive royalty payments, but thousands of individual scientists also benefited from companies licensing their inventions, which were developed using taxpayer funds.
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During their testimonies before Congress, NIH leadership, including Fauci, claimed that they were unable to disclose the identities of the companies making these third-party royalty payments. In response, OpenTheBooks, in collaboration with Judicial Watch, filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, demanding the release of these documents from the NIH.
The watchdog’s report, which covers the period between September 2009 and October 2020, reveals that several royalty payments were made by companies that had received federal contracts and grants, potentially raising concerns about conflicts of interest. It is worth noting that the NIH permits scientists to receive a maximum of $150,000 annually from royalties.
During a Senate hearing in 2022, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) relentlessly questioned Fauci about his NIH royalty payments, only to be met with evasion and refusal to answer. Fauci attempted to deflect by claiming he did not comprehend the senator’s inquiries.
When pressed again about royalty payments in another Senate hearing, Fauci responded by stating that he did not possess factual knowledge regarding such payments. Furthermore, Fauci argued that individuals receiving royalties were not obligated to disclose them.
“As the most recognized official at NIH, Dr. Anthony Fauci was the face of the third-party royalties controversy. But our investigation was about a lot more than any single scientist,” emphasized Adam Andrzejewski, the founder and CEO of OpenTheBooks.
“It was about allowing for scrutiny of these records for potential conflicts of interest, public health implications, and even national security implications for all of us. Every American should understand the stakes in play when public health guidance is released by the federal government,” Andrzejewski added.
Andrzejewski further revealed to Russell Brand in January that Fauci had a history of investing taxpayer dollars into his own inventions and subsequently profiting from the resulting royalties.
“In 2005, the Associated Press obtained an unredacted database, uncovering the fact that Fauci had dismantled all firewalls. He had received $45,000 in royalties for an AIDS therapeutic that he himself had invented,” Andrzejewski disclosed.
The documents released on Wednesday disclose that Fauci received payments from three distinct companies: Santa Cruz Biotechnology, a medical research firm; Ancell Corporation, specializing in immunology; and Chiron Corporation.
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