FDA nominee talks ‘modernizing’ clinical trials, speeding up approvals during hearing
Faster approval of drugs doesn’t have to mean sacrificing safety, according to Scott Gottlieb, MD, the nominee for commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
As summarized by the New York Times, his confirmation hearing touched on many subjects: President Donald Trump’s promises to lower pharmaceutical costs, Gottlieb’s acceptance that vaccines have no link to autism, his past articles on FDA topics and his own potential conflicts of interest within the pharma industry.
He deflected those criticisms, saying he would be “an absolutely objective regulatory watchdog” if confirmed.
“We can have better efficiency and better safety and also remain faithful to FDA’s gold standard for regulatory conduct,” he testified. “If we are doing our jobs right … we can have our cake and eat it too.”
Among the drugs he wants to see approved more expeditiously: alternative, nonaddictive painkillers, as he called the rise in opioid addiction “a public health emergency” on par with the outbreaks of the Ebola and Zika viruses.
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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.