POTUS and BigPharma protecting your health?

NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST HERE...LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/053204_FDA_Big_Pharma_Scott_Gottlieb.html

 

Thanks Obama: POTUS' nomination of
Robert Califf may leave Big Pharma in complete control over the FDA... he took
money from 23 drug companies

Sunday, March 06, 2016 by: Daniel
BarkerTags: FDA, Big
Pharma, Scott
Gottlieb

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(NaturalNews)—It's now official: President
Obama's nomination of Robert Califf as the new head of the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has just been approved by the U.S. Senate.

This is a
particularly worrisome development, due to Califf's strong ties
to the pharmaceutical industry, and although many in Washington (such as Bernie Sanders) and
elsewhere have voiced strong opposition to the nomination, in the final vote
only four senators opposed his appointment.

Califf, who until recently
held the post of chancellor of clinical and translational research at Duke
University, has worked closely with Big Pharma and has received money from 23
different drug companies, including such industry heavyweights
as Merck,
Johnson & Johnson, Lilly and GSK.

As reported by Signs of the
Times:

"Not merely receiving research funds, Califf also served as a
high level Pharma officer, say press reports. Medscape, the medical website,
discloses that Califf 'served as a director, officer, partner, employee,
advisor, consultant or trustee for Genentech.' Portola Pharmaceuticals says
Califf served on its board of directors until leaving for the FDA.

"In
disclosure information for a 2013 article in Circulation, Califf also lists
financial links to Gambro, Regeneron, Gilead, AstraZeneca, Roche and other
companies and equity positions in four medical companies. Gilead is the maker of
the $1000-a-pill hepatitis C drug AlterNet recently wrote about. This is FDA
commissioner material?"

Califf says working with Big Pharma is 'a very good
thing'

And, although Califf has supporters who claim
that he will act in an impartial fashion as FDA commissioner, his own words
paint a very different picture.

"Many of us consult with the
pharmaceutical industry, which I think is a very good thing," Califf told NPR.
"They need ideas and then the decision about what they do is really up to the
person who is funding the study."

Califf's track record also indicates
that he is a terrible choice to lead the agency responsible for keeping Big
Pharma in
check.

Duke University, where Califf was in charge of research, was
involved in a much-publicized research fraud case which led to "terminated
grants, retracted papers and a 60 Minutes
special."

FDA's history of collusion with Big
Pharma

Unfortunately, the FDA has a
history of
working hand-in-hand with the pharmaceutical industry. The previous commissioner
of the agency, Margaret Hamburg, who was appointed in 2009, was expected to be
an impartial figure because of her public health background, but she
disappointed her supporters by easing conflict-of-interest restrictions on
appointees.

Before her departure, Hamburg appointed Califf as FDA deputy
commissioner of medical products and tobacco; Califf subsequently became Obama's
choice for the
vacated commissioner's post.

Other FDA appointees have proven to be
"cheerleaders" for Big Pharma, as well:

"In 2005, a 33-year-old Wall
Street insider known for recommending hot medical stocks, Scott Gottlieb, was
named FDA
deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs. When a multiple
sclerosis drug trial was stopped because three people lost blood platelets and
one died, Gottlieb called it "an overreaction" because the disease, not the drug, might be to blame."

Gottlieb was responsible for rushing
to market Chantix, a stop-smoking drug made by Pfizer, which was linked to
numerous suicides. He also had to step aside from other planning and approval
procedures due to financial ties to several drug companies
involved.

Accordingly, there's nothing really surprising about the
appointment of Califf to head the FDA. It's business as usual – and I do mean
"business."

Perhaps the next POTUS will prove to be more circumspect in
his or her appointments to powerful agencies, but I strongly doubt
it.

Until we reform the current American political system, in which
industry lobbyists can literally buy elected leaders along with their appointed
policymakers, we will continue to be victimized by those whose greed supersedes
any concern for the public's health and
welfare.Sources: SOTT.net, ScientificAmerican.com