New Head of Office of Medical Products and Tobacco at FDA Has History of Pharmaceutical Consulting

It appears that the FDA is following a pattern in seeking new directors and office heads. It is apparently looking to those who have financial conflicts of interest with Big Pharma. I have already discussed how Mitch Zeller - the head of the Center for Tobacco Products - came to FDA directly from a pharmaceutical consulting company. Yesterday, it was announced that the new head of the Office of Medical Products and Tobacco at FDA will be Dr. Robert Califf.The press release describes Dr. Califf as follows:"During his career, Dr. Califf has led many landmark clinical studies, and is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in cardiovascular medicine, health outcomes research, health care quality, and clinical research. He is one of our nation’s leaders in the growing field of translational research, which is key to ensuring that advances in science translate into medical care. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) committees that recommended Medicare coverage of clinical trials and the removal of ephedra from the market and of the IOM’s Committee on Identifying and Preventing Medication Errors. In addition, he served as a member of the FDA Cardiorenal Advisory Panel and FDA Science Board’s Subcommittee on Science and Technology. Currently, he is a member of the IOM Policy Committee and liaison to the Forum in Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation."The Rest of the StoryDespite the seemingly exhaustive review of Dr. Califf's many hi...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs