Scott Gottlieb, MD, President Donald Trump's nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration, holds a diverse background in healthcare. He's previously worked as a deputy commissioner at the FDA, practiced medicine as a physician and served as a consultant and investor in the pharmaceutical industry — a role some worry will create a conflict of interest if he's confirmed to lead the regulatory agency, reports Kaiser Health News.
KHN on Wednesday examined Mr. Gottlieb's extensive career and relationship with drug companies.
Here are seven things to know.
1. Dr. Gottlieb is a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, which is currently investing in or has invested in 188 healthcare companies.
2. From 1997 to 2004, he served as a staff writer for the British Medical Journal. Gottlieb was also an editor for the Pulse section of the Journal of the American Medical Association from 1996 to 2001.
3. He has testified before Congress 18 times as an expert witness on drug prices, the FDA's regulatory process and the nation's vaccine supply, according to KHN.
4. Dr. Gottlieb currently serves — or has served — on eight boards of directors for companies like Tolero Pharmaceuticals, which develops cancer treatments, and Glytec, which creates glycemic management tools for diabetes patients, according to KHN.
5. When he served as a deputy commission for the FDA during the George W. Bush administration, Dr. Gottlieb consulted for nine healthcare companies, like Roche and Eli Lilly. The relationships prevented him from dealing with matters related to the companies for at least a year during his role as deputy commissioner, according to the report.
6. From 2013 through 2015, drug companies gave Dr. Gottlieb nearly $414,000 in payments for data, speeches, consulting, travel and meals, according to federal open payments data. In 2015, eight drug companies reported payments to Dr. Gottlieb, including Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Valeant Pharmaceuticals, according to the report.
7. In a survey of 53 drug companies done by Mizuho Securities, nearly three-fourths (72 percent) named Dr. Gottlieb as their preferred choice to lead the FDA.
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