An FDA Commissioner for the 21st Century

The FDA faces challenges including a speed-versus-safety trade-off, the need to work well with industry, pressure on drug pricing, and tough policy choices under the 21st Century Cures Act. Commissioner-nominee Scott Gottlieb seems well qualified to address them. President Donald Trump has named Scott Gottlieb as his nominee to be the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As compared with some of the other people whose names were floated publicly for the position, Gottlieb is a traditional choice, a physician who served in a deputy commissioner role under President George W. Bush. Observers who opposed Commissioner Robert Califf because of his relationships with drug companies will surely express concern about Gottlieb’s consulting in this area. But he would have been on the short list for any Republican administration. If confirmed, Gottlieb would take the helm . . .