The next head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could be a Silicon Valley investor with no medical background and some controversial views about drug approvals.
The Hill reports one of the men President-elect Donald Trump is considering for the commissioner role, Jim O’Neill, is raising eyebrows because of comments in a 2014 speech about how he would overhaul the agency. O’Neill favored changing the FDA’s mission to only judging whether drugs are safe, not whether they’re effective.
“We should reform FDA so that it’s approving drugs after their sponsors have demonstrated safety and let people start using them at their own risk, but not much risk of safety,” O’Neill said. “But let’s prove efficacy after they’ve been legalized.”
Michael Carome, MD, director of Public Citizen’s health research group, said such a change would lead to a return of the “snake oil salesmen” of 19th century medicine.
For more on O’Neill’s views and concerns over his lack of medical expertise, click on the link below:
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.