Trump Nominates Scott Gottlieb to Lead FDA

On March 10, 2017 President Donald J. Trump nominated Scott Gottlieb, MD, to the position of FDA commissioner. A statement released by the White House confirmed the appointment; however, Gottlieb must be approved by the Senate before he is able to begin his new role at the agency.

“It’s critical to have the right person in charge of the FDA, an agency that affects virtually every American and regulates about a quarter of all consumer spending in the United States. Dr. Gottlieb has impressive qualifications helping American patients as both a physician and in his previous roles at the FDA,” Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health Committee said in a statement. “I look forward to meeting with Dr. Gottlieb and scheduling a hearing to discuss his plans to implement 21^st Century Cures and work with Congress to bring safe and effective drugs and medical devices to patients more quickly and to protect the nation’s food supply.”

Gottlieb currently serves as a physician, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates. This is not Gottlieb’s first time working for the agency. In the past, he has taken on the roles of senior adviser for medical technology, director of medical policy development, and deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs, all at FDA, an AEI biography noted.

Gottlieb also previously served as an advisor or board member at several Big Pharma companies including GlaxoSmithKline and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a New York Timesreport said. Gottlieb has received some criticism over his ties to Big Pharma. The consumer advocate organization Public Citizen released a statement on Friday expressing concern over Gottlieb’s potential ties to the industry, saying he has received at least $413,000 in payments from pharma companies between 2013–2015. A government database separately confirmed this amount.

Source: The White House