BREAKING: Trump nominates Scott Gottlieb to head the FDA - White House official.

[sunonmars]

Anyone know anything about this guy?

[herding cats]

1. He's in tight with the pharma industry.

The selection of Dr. Gottlieb, 44, who served as a top official at the agency during the administration of President George W. Bush, was likely to draw a sigh of relief from industry insiders. Some had expressed concerns that another top contender, Jim O’Neill, held radical views that would have gutted standards for drug approval trials and testing. But Mr. Gottlieb’s experience also elicited sharp criticism from consumer advocates who said he is too deeply tied to the industry.

“He is basically entangled in an unprecedented web of ties to big pharma,” said Dr. Michael Carome, the director of the health research group at Public Citizen, the consumer organization. “He is someone who has been an industry shill and has spent most of his career dedicated to promoting the financial interests of pharmaceutical corporations.”

Mr. Trump has made no secret about his desire to overhaul the F.D.A., telling a group of pharmaceutical executives in January that he planned to slash regulations and speed up drug approvals at the agency. During his speech to Congress last month, he returned to the issue and highlighted the story of a girl, Megan Crowley, with a rare disease and a treatment that her father helped bring to market.

“If we slash the restraints, not just at the F.D.A. but across our government, then we will be blessed with far more miracles just like Megan,” Mr. Trump said in the speech.

Dr. Gottlieb is a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates, where he focuses on health care investments, and is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. He held various jobs at the F.D.A. during Mr. Bush’s presidency, including serving as the deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs. Mr. Gottlieb also has longstanding ties to the drug industry, serving as a consultant or board member for several companies, including GlaxoSmithKline and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/health/fda-scott-gottlieb.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

[sunonmars]

3. aah, so another money grabbing scumbag then....

[herding cats]

4. Yes, he'll guard their profits diligently

Still, O’Neill would have been worse. His overly zealous approach to speeding up drug trials would have cost people their lives.

[RKP5637]

2. Here's something ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/health/fda-scott-gottlieb.html?_r=0

President Trump was expected to nominate Scott Gottlieb, a partner at a venture capital fund with longstanding ties to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, to lead the Food and Drug Administration on Friday, according to senior administration officials.

The selection of Dr. Gottlieb, 44, who served as a top official at the agency during the administration of President George W. Bush, drew praise from industry executives, who had previously expressed concerns that another top contender, Jim O’Neill, held radical views that would have gutted standards for drug approval trials and testing.

“I think Scott is science-based, he’s patient-focused, he’s got strong management skills and he’s intellectually tough, so he will use all of that to make sure the F.D.A. and industry are all acting in the interests of patients,” said Dr. Leonard S. Schleifer, the chief executive of Regeneron Pharmaceticals.

But Mr. Gottlieb’s experience also elicited sharp criticism from consumer advocates who said he is too deeply tied to the industry.