Investing.com -- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE ) stock fell 1.5% following reports that U.S. prosecutors are investigating a claim related to the timing of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine announcement. The probe is examining allegations that Pfizer may have delayed the release of successful vaccine trial results until after the 2020 presidential election.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, citing sources, the claim was brought to federal prosecutors by British drugmaker GSK after a former Pfizer scientist, now with GSK, suggested that Pfizer had postponed announcing its vaccine’s efficacy. The scientist in question, Phil Dormitzer, who was a key figure in Pfizer’s viral vaccine research and has since left GSK, denies making such statements, asserting that his team worked diligently to obtain FDA Emergency Use Authorization as soon as possible.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan is said to have interviewed at least two individuals related to the allegation, including a GSK executive who documented a conversation with Dormitzer. The investigation is delving into what Dormitzer purportedly told GSK executives in late 2024 about Pfizer’s actions in 2020.

Dormitzer has defended the vaccine development process, stating, "My Pfizer colleagues and I did everything we could to get the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization at the very first possible moment." He emphasized that any other interpretation of his comments about the vaccine’s development pace would be incorrect.

The inquiry, which touches on an accusation frequently made by President Trump, is part of a series of Justice Department investigations into individuals and events Trump has publicly criticized. It remains uncertain what legal infractions are being considered. Pfizer has not been approached by prosecutors regarding this matter, as per the company’s statement.

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