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WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is
expected to tap a former GlaxoSmithKline executive and a U.S.
general to spearhead the government's effort at developing a
coronavirus vaccine on an accelerated schedule, officially
called "Operation Warp Speed," an administration official said
on Wednesday.
The former head of Glaxo's vaccines division, Moncef Slaoui,
will serve as chief adviser on the operation and U.S. General
Gustav Perna will act as its chief operating officer. Trump
previously said he would be the top boss on the effort to
develop, test and produce on a shortened timeline a vaccine
against the deadly coronavirus that has caused a global
pandemic.
The White House has set a target of having 300 million
vaccine doses by the end of 2020. No such vaccine for this
pathogen has been approved though a number are under
development, and producing and distributing an effective vaccine
are seen as key steps to jumpstarting the U.S. economy.
When Slaoui retired nearly three years ago from the
drugmaker, its vaccines unit had 15 products in development,
including one for Ebola, another killer virus. Slaoui then went
on to join Medicxi, a biotech venture capital firm.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Tim Ahmann; Writing by Lisa
Lambert; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
