Trump to nominate Scott Gottlieb as FDA commissioner despite industry links

The White House announced on 10 March that President Trump will nominate Scott Gottlieb to head the US regulatory body, the Food and Drug Administration.1 Gottlieb has extensive ties to the drug and biologics industry and has long supported deregulation of the FDA.12

The US watchdog group, Public Citizen, reports that Gottlieb has received “at least $413 000 [£340 000; €388 000] from multiple pharma and medical device companies, most for consulting and speaking fees from 2013 through 2015.” The companies include GlaxoSmithKline, Valeant, and Vertex.

Gottlieb, an internist, is currently a fellow at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, and was deputy commissioner of the FDA from 2005 to 2007under President George W Bush. He is also a “venture partner” with New Enterprise Associates, which says it is a “global venture capital firm investing in technology and healthcare,” and managing …