(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc’s Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said on Tuesday the company would never discuss the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines on coronavirus vaccines with the White House as it could undermine the agency’s independence.
White House officials are blocking new FDA guidelines for emergency release of a coronavirus vaccine, including one that would likely ensure that no vaccine could be authorized before the Nov. 3 presidential election, the New York Times reported on Monday.
“We believe U.S. FDA’s independence is today more important than ever as public trust in #COVID19 vaccine development has been eroded by the politicization of the process,” Bourla said on Twitter. (https://bit.ly/2GL9JJO)
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
