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While at Duke, Robert M. Califf received millions in funding and salary support from Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, and other drug companies.
President Obama's recent nominee to chair the Food and Drug Administration has drawn harsh criticism for his
ties to the pharmaceutical industry. The disapproval grew more justified this week as it was revealed that until this year, nominee Dr. Robert Califf was a board member and consultant for a company whose sole purpose is to help pharmaceutical companies evade and manipulate FDA regulations. He currently serves as the FDA's deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco and awaits Senate confirmation to become Deputy Commissioner of the agency.
Faculty Connection, LLC, where Califf served from 2006 to 2015,
claims the company "brings together physicians and researchers from leading academic institutions with pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device clients.
"
As the Intercept
reported, Faculty Connection, LLC "boasts that its team of 'practicing university-based physicians and researchers' provides 'regulatory consulting,' including expertise in FDA briefing reviews and other regulatory submissions to the agency."
Further, an official corporate
video notes the company has
"served over 175 different pharma, biotech medical device firms," claiming to help faculty — researchers, doctors, and academics — work side-by-side with the pharmaceutical industry.
For example, Dr. Mona Fiuzat's, a consultant for Facult Connection, LLC, "participated in the preparation for Cardio-renal Advisory Committee presentations to the FDA on behalf of drug sponsors," according to her
biography on the company's website.
Califf previously came under fire for helping to establish the Duke Clinical Research Institute, which is funded primarily by pharmaceutical companies. According to a 2014 Conflict of Interest Disclosure, Cahill admitted his close connection to the industry. As TIME summarized, his income is "contractually underwritten in part by several large pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Novartis. He also receives as much as $100,000 a year in consulting fees from some of those companies, and from others." The FDA insists Cahill donates his private income to nonprofits.
Comment: How's that for setting an example being the head of the UN Human Rights Council?