JUST EXPOSED — Feds HID Big Pharma PAYOUTS

A watchdog group had to sue the federal government just to find out that hundreds of millions of dollars flowed from drug companies to the same scientists who shaped America’s COVID-19 response — and key details are still hidden from the public.

At a Glance

A lawsuit by the watchdog group Open the Books uncovered $710 million in payments from drug companies to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 2021 and 2023.
About $690 million of that went to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the agency Dr. Anthony Fauci once led.
Fauci admitted to receiving some royalty payments from an older drug discovery, but denied getting anything tied to COVID-19.
The NIH has blocked full disclosure — redacting payment amounts and the names of the companies that paid them.

Hundreds of Millions Flowed to NIH — and Nobody Was Told

The National Institutes of Health received $710 million in royalty payments from private drug companies between 2021 and 2023. That money came in while those same companies were developing and selling COVID-19 treatments. The public only learned about it because a watchdog group, Open the Books, filed a lawsuit after the NIH refused to hand over the records. Even after losing in court, the NIH still redacted key details — including how much each scientist received and which companies paid them. ^[1]

Open the Books estimates that roughly 2,400 NIH scientists collected about $325 million in royalty payments over the past decade — averaging around $135,000 per person. Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, has pushed hard for full disclosure. Fauci told Paul that the law actually shields scientists from having to reveal their royalties. That answer did not satisfy lawmakers on either side of the aisle who want to know whether financial ties to drug companies shaped public health decisions. ^[16]

Fauci Denies Personal COVID Benefit — But Questions Remain

During a tense congressional hearing, House Republicans pressed Fauci directly on whether any of the COVID-era money reached him. Fauci said, “Somebody did, but not me.” He told the committee he receives limited royalties from a monoclonal antibody he developed more than 20 years ago, but nothing connected to COVID-19. ^[1] That said, records show Fauci received at least 37 separate payments from third-party companies over the years, and the NIH still won’t say how much or from whom. ^[15]

There is also a notable wrinkle in Fauci’s history with these payments. Back in 2005, after an Associated Press investigation exposed the royalty system, Fauci said he felt it was wrong to keep the money and donated his entire royalty payment to charity. The NIH confirmed that account. ^[11] That admission shows Fauci himself once recognized the conflict-of-interest problem — which makes the current lack of transparency harder to defend.

A Broken System That Hides Who Pays Whom

The royalty payments are legal. NIH scientists can collect money from drug companies when those companies use discoveries made by NIH researchers. But the system has almost no public oversight. The NIH did not even create a disclosure policy until 2005 — and only after journalists forced the issue. ^[11] Federally funded researchers are supposed to report any outside income over $5,000 a year from companies that could benefit from their work. Yet studies have found that the vast majority of researchers do not fully disclose those payments. ^[17]

The bigger concern is what this means for trust in public health. When the scientists setting COVID-19 policy also received payments from the companies selling COVID-19 treatments, the public has a right to ask whether those decisions were truly independent. That question deserves a straight answer. Right now, the NIH is making sure Americans can’t get one. Both conservatives frustrated by government overreach and liberals worried about corporate influence in public health have good reason to demand full transparency — and to be angry that it still hasn’t arrived.