Globe: Brigham and Women's president sold additional stock before Moderna board resignation

Betsy Nabel, MD, president of Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital, sold millions of dollars in Moderna stock before she resigned from the drugmaker's board and as the hospital was preparing to reduce costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports The Boston Globe.

Dr. Nabel sold 30,000 shares of Moderna stock worth $1.98 million in May and 73,975 Moderna shares worth $6.5 million on July 15, bringing her total earnings this year to about $8.5 million, according to the newspaper, which cites information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The May sale came the month before Brigham and Women's parent company, Boston-based Mass General Brigham, announced it cut executive pay, froze wages for other workers and suspended retirement benefits to help offset financial damage from the pandemic. The July sale came weeks before Dr. Nabel stepped down from the Moderna board. Dr. Nabel, who joined the Moderna board in 2015 and is paid for her service, said at the time that she decided to leave the board to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest with the drugmaker working on an experimental COVID-19 vaccine. Brigham and Women's was identified as a site for Moderna's phase 3 vaccine trial.

But some Brigham and Women's employees are upset and noted that the stock sales took place around the time Dr. Nabel and other hospital administrators imposed cost-cutting, according to the Globe.

When contacted by the newspaper, a spokesman for Anne Klibanski, MD, chief executive of Mass General Brigham, and a spokesperson for Brigham and Women's declined to address the timing of the sales.

Regarding the July 15 stock sale, hospital spokesperson Erin McDonough told the Globe Aug. 4 that Dr. Nabel "will make a charitable contribution to a nonprofit charity of her choice" when she sells her remaining investments in Moderna. She also said Dr. Nabel "agreed that she will pursue a plan of divestiture of her financial interest in Moderna as soon as possible," noting that SEC rules require Dr. Nabel to wait until the next "open trading window" before she can sell stock options. 

Brigham Board of Trustees Chair John Fish told Becker's in a statement: "The Brigham trustees believe maintaining the confidence of the public is critical as we work toward the common goal of eradicating COVID-19. While her position on the Moderna board was reviewed and approved in accordance with our policies, and she followed all requirements, we fully support Dr. Nabel's decision to step down from the Moderna board and divest her financial interests."

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