Heiko von der Leyen, husband of Ursula, doctor and scientific director of the American biotech company Orgenesis, specialized in cell and gene therapies and at the forefront in the production of anti-Covid RNA vaccines, since last June was in the Foundation created by the Padua University to manage the line of research on gene therapy and RNA drugs, a plan financed by the NRP with 320 million euros paid to the ministry of the University and coordinated by Professor Rosario Rizzuto.
As revealed by Rizzuto in Domani, Heiko von der Leyen renounced the appointment after the controversy over the conflict of interest due to the funding received from Europe. Thus the European first gentleman has called himself out of the surveillance committee, even if he remains at the head of the biotech Orgenesis, which together with global drug giants such as Pfizer, BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sanofi is part of the research project.