Fauci Doesn’t Get Royalties from the Moderna Vaccine
The Claim
Dr. Anthony Fauci gets a percent of profits from the Moderna vaccine.
News posted on
Emerging story
In an interview with Newsguard, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said that Fauci owns about half the patents on the Moderna vaccine. The interview was conducted in February but continues to be shared on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
There’s no evidence to support the claim. While Fauci has a few patents, they relate to HIV and AIDS treatment.
In June 2020, the NIH announced that it would seek out a patent for technology used in the Moderna vaccine. While Fauci has a role within the NIH department, that does not mean that he profits off of the vaccine. Since the NIH is a government body, the patent is owned by the government. It appears the patent intends on keeping the vaccine affordable.
That said, the inventors of the technology will be compensated. Like Kennedy says, there are six of them; however, Fauci is not one of them.
