Dr. Robert Califf, Biden's pick to lead FDA, made millions as a consultant for more than a dozen pharmaceutical corporations and holds millions more in Big Pharma investments.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) December 24, 2021
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Califf was FDA head under Obama back in 2015. The American Thinker does a good job of taking down Califf's background, but it's precisely the background that the deep state loves: therefore, he'll be appointed.
COVID has revealed that the FDA, the CDC, Fauci,
the White House, and “science” are at odds with each other. The FDA desperately
needs major reform and transparency surrounding hiring, drug safety, and new
drug approvals. As commissioner under Obama, Califf made few or no noteworthy
changes to the FDA and shows no signs of improving the record if re-appointed.
Califf arrived at the FDA in 2015 determined to
modernize how the agency reviewed drug and device study data, but there is
little evidence he achieved that goal:
- When he learned that Obama had
proposed him as commissioner, Califf removed his name from scientific
articles he had written. Even if they were controversial and assuming they
were truthful, he should have stuck by them. America needs an FDA
commissioner who will stick to evidence-based science, even in the face of
controversy.
- Dr. Califf currently works full-time for Google’s
“Alphabet” company (Google being the most evil company in the world,
according to Ted Cruz). In 2019, he became head of medical strategy
at Google parent company Alphabet Inc.
Dr. Califf in Bed With Big Pharma:
- Dr. Califf has deeper ties to the
pharmaceutical industry than any FDA commissioner in recent memory, and he
lacks a public health background.
- Dr. Califf founded the Duke Clinical Research Institute, which
runs research trials for pharmaceutical companies and today has more than
1,200 employees.
- At Duke, Dr. Califf actively solicited funding from Big
Pharma and no record exists of Dr. Califf ever saying “no” to any pharmaceutical
company that offered him money. America needs an unbiased, science-based
commissioner without these conflicts, and someone who can stand up to Big
Pharma and say “no.” Some of the drug companies he accepted money from
have FDA violations and questionable or even upsetting behaviors when it
comes to their claims and when it comes to their safety /regulatory
records.
- Hillary Clinton and the Clinton
foundation have been heavily criticized for doing the same thing. She
solicited significant donations as Secretary of State from anyone and
everyone. Some of the countries from which Hillary Clinton accepted
donations have appalling human rights records and even ties to terrorism.
The Republicans threw a fit about Clinton but they didn’t seem to care
about the appointment of Califf the first time around and haven’t yet
raised these issues since his second appointment was proposed.
- Bernie Sanders is opposed to Califf’s appointment because
of his Big Pharma ties.
- More than half (~63%) of Califf’s $320 million funding at Duke
came from Big Pharma and has had decades-long ties to almost every big
pharma company.
- He has served as a paid consultant with (1) Merck Sharp
& Dohme, (2) Johnson & Johnson, (3) GlaxoSmithKline, (4)
AstraZeneca, (5) Eli Lilly (6) Amgen, (7) F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, (8)
Janssen Pharmaceutica, (9) Daiichi Sankyo, (10) Sanofi-Aventis, (11)
Bristol-Myers Squibb, (12) Proventys, Inc, (13) Regado Biosciences, Inc,
and (14) Corgentech Inc. (15) Genentech
- Forbes wrote that his close ties to the drug
industry were the reason for him not being nominated for the FDA
Commissioner position in 2009.
- Due to Califf’s big pharma conflicts, he would be unable to serve on an FDA advisory committee, yet democrats are proposing Calif for a third tour of duty at the FDA, where he previously served as the deputy commissioner and then the commissioner.
