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Robert F Kennedy Jr has said he will keep his share of any windfall resulting from litigation against pharmaceutical company Merck, even if he becomes the top US health official under Donald Trump, ethics filings show.
In an ethics agreement published Wednesday, Kennedy said it would keep its share of potential winnings from the Wisner Baum law firm’s lawsuit against Merck’s Gardasil vaccine, which prevents the human papillomavirus, known as HPV.
“I am entitled to receive 10 percent of the fees awarded in contingency fee cases submitted 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, a vaccine skeptic Trump was chosen as Secretary of Health in November, it said it had the right to retain its interests in matters that did not involve the United States or in which the state did not have a “direct and substantial interest.”
The ethics filings were released Wednesday as Mike Crapo, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, announced that Kennedy’s confirmation hearings would take place next Wednesday.
Kennedy, a scion of the famous Democratic political family, stressed that he played no direct role in the Merck affair and pledged to avoid doing anything that could influence the outcome if he were nominated. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The first in a series of cases alleging young people were harmed by Merck’s vaccine is being heard this week in a Los Angeles court. Kennedy first became involved in the legal effort against Gardasil in 2018.
The former Democrat, who supported Asset last year, after launching his own independent bid for the White House, he also announced that he would resign from his consulting role at Wisner Baum.
In separate financial documents filed Wednesday with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Kennedy revealed $11.6 million in disclosed income over the past two years, including $8.8 million from his work as an environmental lawyer at Kennedy & Madonna. He has agreed to end his role with the company.
Kennedy also received $856,559 from Wisner Baum during the same period, records show. He also had small stakes in biotech Crispr Therapeutics and Dragonfly Therapeutics, according to financial disclosures.
These revelations highlight the controversy surrounding Trump’s decision to choose a vaccine skeptic and activist to oversee the U.S. Department of Health, including its 13 divisions and agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, which has considerable influence over drug regulation. in the United States.
The delay in Kennedy’s congressional hearing, originally scheduled for this week, was interpreted by some in his camp as a sign that he may struggle to win approval from the crucial health and finance committees, including it will need a full vote before. in the Senate.
Some senators have raised questions about his record on vaccines and abortion, among other things.
The litigation against Merck over Gardasil is one of several high-profile anti-vaccine lawsuits in which Kennedy has been involved. Gardasil is recommended as a routine injection for ages 11 and 12 by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 160 minutes. having been distributed at the end of 2022, according to official statistics. Certain high-risk types of HPV can cause cervical cancer.
Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. Merck said: “The plaintiff’s allegations have no merit, and we remain committed to vigorously defending ourselves against these allegations. »