The deputy minister assigns, her husband collects

For the past few years, pharmaceutical multinational Roche has been sponsoring the husband of deputy Health minister Fotini Skopouli, professor Charalambos Moutsopoulos, having allocated at least 365,000 euros for his research work, an already large amount and quite a bit higher than any other sponsorship by the company to another professor from the University of Athens

Skopouli is now trying to "grant" huge amounts to Roche for the molecular control of blood regarding the West Nile virus, even under direct private contract and through a controversial bidding process as reported by one company that was allegedly supposed to have participated in the negotiations, as the deputy minister supported in her public statement!

Moutsopoulos’ close economic relationship raises legitimate questions as to why his wife, who was appointed to a government position after a Democratic Left proposal, is now insisting on an irregular process, the ultimate goal of which is the redistribution of huge sums that the State grants each year for the molecular control of blood. And indeed why would she want to essentially "donate" to Roche the initial amount of 300,000 euros for checks when the ministry of Health, through vice minister Marios Salmas, has secured this specific service completely free for this season in all possible seriousness?

Proto Thema reveals today the hefty sponsorship by the pharmaceutical company to Moutsopoulos, despite the fact the latter was president of the National Organization for Medicines (EOF) in the past and any reasonable person would have raised at least one ethical issue as concerns this relationship. According to official documents of the University of Athens, starting in 2006, Roche has granted Moutsopoulos with a consistently large amount each year. In 2006 he was awarded 15,000 euros, in 2007 60,000 euros, in 2008 50,000 euros, in 2009 140,000 euros, and for the next two years he was given 50,000 euros per year.