CASAA Call to Action: In January of 2015 FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg appointed Dr. Robert Califf, Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco at the FDA. Hamburg resigned from the FDA in March of 2015. This appointment by Hamburg underscores the corrupt nature of the FDA and was shocking and a brazen move since Califf is the most conflicted high level executive at the FDA which I have ever encountered. You will be shocked to read the long list of conflicts of interest which Dr. Califf brings to the FDA.
“For the period from 2010 through 2013, Dr. Califf reports receiving research grants that partially support his salary from Amylin, Johnson & Johnson, Scios, Merck/Schering-Plough, Schering-Plough Research Institute, Novartis Pharma, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Aterovax, Bayer, Roche, Lilly, and Schering-Plough; all grants are paid to Duke University.
Dr. Califf also consults for TheHeart.org, Johnson & Johnson, Scios, Kowa Research Institute, Nile, Parkview, Orexigen Therapeutics, Pozen, WebMD, Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, AstraZeneca, Bayer-OrthoMcNeil, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, GlaxoSmithKline, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, XOMA, University of Florida, Pfizer, Roche, Servier International, DSI-Lilly, Janssen R&D, CV Sight, Regeneron, and Gambro; all income from these consultancies is donated to nonprofit organizations, with most going to the clinical research fellowship fund of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Dr. Califf holds equity in Nitrox LLC, N30 Pharma, and Portola.”
Another source to confirm Dr. Califf’s conflicts:
“A disclosure statement on the website of Duke Clinical Research Institute says “Robert M. Califf, MD, reports receiving research grant support from NovartisPharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson/Scios, Lilly, Merck, and Schering Plough, and consulting fees from Annenberg, Aterovax, Bayer/Ortho McNeil,BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, WebMd/theheart.org, Johnson and ohnson/Scios, Kowa Research Institute, McKinsey & Company, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Aventis, and Schering Plough, and has an equity position with NITROX, LLC. “
And there’s more! In disclosure information for a 2013 article in Circulation, Dr. Califf’s also lists financial links to Gambro, Regeneron, Gilead, AstraZeneca, Roche, others companies and equity positions in four medical companies. The medical website Medscape discloses that Dr. Califf “served as a director, officer, partner, employee, advisor, consultant or trustee for Genentech” as well as for Medscape LLC/theheart.org. Portola Pharmaceuticals says Dr. Califf served on the Board of Directors until he was appointed FDA Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco.”
Still not convinced? Here is a fantastic resource which accurately answers the question: Has Your Health Professional Received Drug Company Money? Sort the results and you will see that the largest contribution aka “bribe” is $87,500 from Johnson & Johnson!
Dr. Califf is generally regarded as the number 1 candidate for the next FDA Commissioner position and I concur. This will require President Obama to appoint him and then Congressional Committee confirmation. This is the worst case of the “Fox in the hen house” I have ever seen. Anyone who is genuinely dedicated and concerned with Public Health will conclude that Dr. Califf is bought and paid for by BP. Thus, the answer to the headline question of “Will The Next Commissioner Of The FDA Be Vape Friendly? is a resounding NO. He is far worse with respect to his conflicts than any previous FDA Commissioner (If appointed and confirmed). Period. Watch for some fireworks and delay tactics during the Congressional Committee confirmation hearings, although I think that he will be confirmed.