Dr. Rick Bright, a vaccine expert who has been removed as head of the federal agency, said he was ousted after he resisted the widespread adoption of a drug promoted by President Donald Trump as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
He also said that he believed he was ousted because he insisted that “the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the COVID-19 pandemic be invested into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit.”
Dr. Bright said, “I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science — not politics or cronyism — has to lead the way.”
“Rushing blindly towards unproven drugs can be disastrous and result in countless more deaths,” he continued. “Science, in service to the health and safety of the American people, must always trump politics.”
Dr. Bright, who was the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) until earlier this week, and his attorneys have called for investigations of his abrupt transfer out of his post at the time when the nation has become the global epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.
So far, the United States has reported more than 849,000 confirmed cases and over 47,680 deaths.
The White House and the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) declined to comment on Dr. Bright’s statement.
However, HHS said Dr. Bright has been given a job with fewer responsibilities at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Wednesday that he had worked closely with Dr. Bright.
“He was very good at running that agency [BARDA], and I think it’s a loss to see him step out of that job right now,” Dr. Gottlieb said. “That’s a position that’s really critical to trying and getting some of these therapeutics [treatments for coronavirus] over the finish line.”
“It’s unfortunate to see a loss of continuity in that position at really a critical time from a public health standpoint in the history of that agency,” he added.
Dr. Bright went on to say, “Sidelining me in the middle of this pandemic and placing politics and cronyism ahead of science puts lives at risk and stunts national efforts to safely and effectively address this urgent public health crisis.”
He further added he will ask the inspector general of HHS to “investigate the manner in which this administration has politicized the work of BARDA and has pressured me and other conscientious scientists to fund companies with political connections and efforts that lack scientific merit.”
Dr. Bright’s lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, said, “The administration’s removal of Dr. Bright from his position as director of BARDA is retaliation plain and simple.”
“The results from the administration’s refusal to listen to the experts and to sideline those like Dr. Bright who point out any errors in the government’s response will continue to be catastrophic for the American people,” his lawyers added.
“We will request that the Office of Special Counsel seek a stay of Dr. Bright’s termination and that Dr. Bright be permitted to remain in his position pending the OSC and IG’s investigation of this unlawful forced transfer.”
Dr. Bright wrote, “My professional background has prepared me for a moment like this — to confront and defeat a deadly virus that threatens Americans and people around the globe. To this point, I have led the government’s efforts to invest in the best science available to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Unfortunately, this resulted in clashes with H.H.S. political leadership, including criticism for my proactive efforts to invest early into vaccines and supplies critical to saving American lives. I also resisted efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections,” he wrote.
Dr. Bright also wrote, “Specifically, and contrary to misguided directives, I limited the broad use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which clearly lack scientific merit.”
Trump has suggested that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, which are used to treat and prevent malaria, could be effective in treating COVID-19.
Some studies have found that these drugs are ineffective in treating the coronavirus and in fact, they led to more deaths. A recent study found that American veterans who took hydroxychloroquine had higher death rates than those who did not take the drug.
Dr. Bright wrote, “While I am prepared to look at all options and to think ‘outside the box’ for effective treatments, I rightly resisted efforts to provide an unproven drug on demand to the American public.”
“I insisted that these drugs be provided only to hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 while under the supervision of a physician,” he added. “These drugs have potentially serious risks associated with them, including increased mortality observed in some recent studies in patients with COVID-19.”
