Moderna Inc. Chief Financial Officer Jorge Gomez left the covid-19 vaccine maker after just one day in the role, after an internal investigation at his former employer.
Gomez's departure follows Dentsply Sirona Inc.'s disclosure of an internal investigation of financial reporting matters, Moderna said. Gomez was Dentsply Sirona's CFO for almost three years. Moderna's recently retired finance chief, David Meline, will serve in the role while the company searches for a new CFO, the vaccine maker said Wednesday.
Moderna shares have been under pressure as demand for covid vaccine shots has waned, while vaccine advocates have criticized the company for selling shots primarily to higher-income countries. When Moderna hired Gomez in April to succeed Meline, 64, Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel cited his passion for sustainability that aligned with the company's vision of corporate responsibility as a key part of its mission.
Gomez, 54, will receive 12 months salary totaling $700,000 as severance pay, but will forfeit his signing bonus, bonus eligibility and eligibility for new hire equity awards, Moderna said in a securities filing.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Moderna's shares fell 5% Wednesday in New York. They've lost almost half their value since the year began.
Dentsply Sirona, a Charlotte, N.C.-based maker of dental instruments and systems, said Tuesday that its audit and finance committee is investigating allegations around the company's use of incentives to sell products to distributors and other actions to achieve executive-compensation targets.
The company said it hasn't finalized its assessment of the impact of the investigation on its historical financial statements or those for the first quarter, and will delay filing its 10-Q for the period.
Before joining Dentsply Sirona in 2019, Gomez spent 13 years at health products and services provider Cardinal Health Inc., where he rose to the level of finance chief. He earlier worked at automaker General Motors Co.
Moderna said it learned about the investigation through Dentsply's regulatory filing on Tuesday.