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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he will keep his share of any windfall from litigation against drugmaker Merck even if he becomes the top U.S. health official under Donald Trump, ethics records show.
In the ethics agreement published on Wednesday, Kennedy He said he would keep his share of potential gains from the case brought by law firm Wisner Baum against Merck's Gardasil vaccine, which blocks human papillomavirus, commonly known as HPV.
“I am entitled to 10 percent of the fees awarded in contingency fee cases referred to the firm,” Kennedy, co-counsel at Wisner Baum, said in a letter to the top ethics official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. .
Kennedy, the vaccine skeptic Trump chose to be Secretary of Health In November, he said he was entitled to reserve interests in cases that did not involve the United States or in which the country had no “direct and substantial interest.”
The ethics records were released on Wednesday as Mike Crapo, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, announced that Kennedy's confirmation hearings would be held next Wednesday.
Kennedy, a scion of the famous Democratic political family, stressed that he plays no direct role in the Merck case and pledged to avoid doing anything to influence the outcome if he is appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The first in a series of cases alleging young people were injured by Merck's vaccine will be heard this week in a Los Angeles court. Kennedy first became involved in the legal efforts against Gardasil in 2018.
Former Democrat who supported Trump Last year, after he announced his independent run for the White House, he also said he would resign from his advisory role at Wisner Baum.
In separate financial records filed Wednesday with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Kennedy disclosed $11.6 million in reported income over the past two years, including $8.8 million from his work as an environmental lawyer at Kennedy & Madonna. He pledged to end his role in the company.
Kennedy also received $856,559 from Wisner-Baum during the same period, records show. He also owned small stakes in biotech companies Crispr Therapeutics and Dragonfly Therapeutics, according to financial disclosures.
The disclosures highlight the controversy surrounding Trump's decision to select an outspoken vaccine skeptic and activist to oversee the US Department of Health, including its 13 departments and agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, that have sweeping influence over drug regulation. In the United States.
Some in his camp took the delay in Kennedy's congressional hearing, which was scheduled for this week, as a sign that he may have difficulty getting approval from the crucial health and finance committees, whose approval he would need before a full vote. In the Senate.
Some senators have raised questions about his record on vaccines and abortion, among other issues.
The lawsuit against Merck over Gardasil is among several high-profile anti-vaccine lawsuits in which Kennedy has been involved. Gardasil is recommended as a routine injection for children ages 11 to 12 years old by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 160 million. To be distributed by the end of 2022 according to official statistics. Some high-risk types of HPV can cause cervical cancer.
Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. Merck said: “Plaintiff’s claims are without merit, and we remain committed to vigorously defending against these claims.”
