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FDA’s agenda in limbo as Biden’s nominee stalls in Senate

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Matthew Perrone, Fox13: February 08, 2022

WASHINGTON — (AP) — President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration has stalled in the narrowly divided Senate, an unexpected setback that could delay decisions on electronic cigarettes and a raft of other high-profile health issues pending at the agency.

Biden nominated Dr. Robert Califf for the job in November after a 10-month search that critics complained left a leadership vacuum at the powerful regulatory agency, which has played a central role in the COVID-19 response effort.

Califf, a cardiologist who was an FDA commissioner under President Barack Obama, was viewed as a safe choice who could easily clear the Senate, given his 2016 confirmation by an overwhelming vote, 89-4.

But his latest Senate bid has been snared by political controversies on both the left and right that threaten to sink his nomination and leave the FDA in limbo for months — possibly even until a new Congress convenes next year.

No vote has been set on Califf’s nomination as Senate Democrats, the White House and other administration officials make a full-court press to lock up the votes needed to pass the 50-50 chamber. Former FDA officials warn that failure to move on Califf’s nomination will make it even harder to find and confirm future nominees.

“If he can’t get confirmed it bodes poorly for almost anyone else who could be nominated,” said Dr. Stephen Ostroff, who twice served as acting FDA commissioner. “What you’re seeing here is a lot of extraneous issues inserting themselves into the confirmation process and the same thing would happen to virtually anyone else nominated.”

Five Senate Democrats are opposing Califf due to his consulting work for drugmakers and the FDA’s track record of overseeing addictive painkillers that contributed to the U.S. opioid epidemic. That group includes Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, both from Republican-controlled states ravaged by the epidemic.

With Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico absent and recovering from a stroke, Democrats need the support of six Republicans to confirm Califf.

[….]

The White House long assumed enough Republicans would support Califf to easily overcome any Democratic defections, given his strong support from the pharmaceutical lobby. Indeed, Califf seemed to be cruising toward confirmation after a cordial hearing before the Senate’s health committee in December, which included friendly exchanges with most of its Republican members.

But two days after his appearance the FDA eased longstanding restrictions on abortion pills that allowed women to order them through the mail. Although Califf had no role in that decision, dozens of anti-abortion groups lobbied Republicans to vote against him based on earlier changes impacting the medications while he was at the FDA.

[….]

“It is troubling to see Dr. Califf judged on issues that are a very small part of the FDA’s responsibilities,” said Steven Grossman of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, which represents industry, patient and consumer groups that interact with the agency. “This narrow focus increases the likelihood there will be more and longer periods when FDA is without permanent leadership.”

The White House is unlikely to send another FDA nominee to Capitol Hill if Califf can’t clinch 50 votes, noted Grossman, a former HHS and Senate staffer.

In that scenario, the current acting FDA chief, Dr. Janet Woodcock, could continue leading the agency for months to come — potentially into next year. She can serve as acting commissioner as long as Califf’s nomination is pending, followed by another 210 days after it is withdrawn or expires, under federal law.

[….]

Last week Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., announced her support for Califf after he agreed to not work for any pharmaceutical company for at least four years after leaving the FDA. Califf has recently served as a board director or adviser to more than a half-dozen drug and biotech companies, according to his ethics disclosure form.

“I think all this publicity that ‘maybe Califf isn’t going to make it’ is going to get people more focused on why they want Califf there,” said Diana Zuckerman, of the nonprofit National Center for Health Research. “I think he still has a very good chance.”

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Comments on CMS’s Proposed Decision Memo on Screening for Lung Cancer with Low Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT)

Policy, Testimony & Briefings, , ,

December 17, 2021

We agree that former smokers would benefit from a higher rate of low dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung cancer screening. However, we are concerned with several major aspects of the Proposed Decision Memo’s discussion of Counseling and Shared Decision-Making.

  1. We urge CMS to amend language in the final draft of the Decision Memo to more accurately reflect the science-based evidence. The proposed memo currently reads that “Professional societies and provider groups have noted that providers have gained considerable experience and expertise and believe flexibility will reduce burden.” However, there is no evidence that providers have become better at counseling and shared decision-making regarding LDCT; on the contrary, there is evidence that there is already too much flexibility in how these discussions are framed. For example, research has found that shared decision-making conversations regarding LDCT focus on the advantages and rarely discuss the potential harms.[1] Healthcare providers spent less than a minute explaining the procedure and there was no evidence that decision aids were used. Patients deserve to make informed choices, and this is not possible under the current norms, which are too flexible. Rather than increase flexibility, CMS should provide explicit guidance for shared decision-making discussions on LDCT, such as requiring a checklist of key benefits and risks for the procedure that patients must sign after having read and discussed each point with their healthcare provider. For example, a decision-making tool could include a checklist that explains each benefit and risk in non-technical language, where the patient must initial each section to indicate that they read it, and then the physician must sign it to indicate the conversation took place, in the presence of the patient. In addition, any decision-making tool should highlight beneficiary eligibility criteria to ensure that patients who do not meet these criteria are aware that they are more likely to be harmed by LDCT screening.

 

  1. We urge that CMS maintain the requirement that shared decision-making conversations include a patient’s healthcare provider. Although research indicates that the decision-making conversations with physicians and non-physician practitioners are often inadequate, we believe the solution is to improve training for those conversations, rather than allowing health educators and others who are not healthcare experts to provide counseling and shared decision-making without the inclusion of healthcare professionals. Shared decisions regarding medical options should be made between a patient and a healthcare provider with whom they have an established relationship, which is generally their primary care physician. That is important because if there are any abnormal findings from the LDCT, it is the healthcare provider that the patient will need to follow-up with, not an educator. Shared decision making also provides an important opportunity to discuss smoking cessation options, which primary care physicians are best equipped to do. In summary, when patients engage in shared decision-making with their healthcare provider, that aids in informed decision-making while also helping ensure continuity of care. While health educators and others who are specifically trained to discuss the risks and benefits of LDCT can be an important addition to those doctor-patient conversations, spending more time with patients than physicians do and ensuring that patients clearly understand their options, they should not replace doctor-patient shared decision-making.

 

  1. We also urge that CMS reconsider its proposal to remove the specifications for the components of the shared decision-making tools. The agency justifies this change by stating that “the tools and guidance has matured since the early inception of shared decision-making.” We are not aware of evidence that the tools and guidance have matured, and ask CMS to provide guidance regarding decision-making tools that are based on peer-reviewed research-based articles.

 

  1. CMS also proposes removing the LDCT lung cancer screening registry requirement. We disagree with that proposal, since the ongoing revisions to guidance regarding LDCT screening can best be evaluated using a required registry.

As a final point, we question the assumptions that patients’ current low level of screening is a function of lack of flexibility in shared decision-making and of the criteria for eligibility. We believe it more likely that the major causes are:

  • Former smokers are aware that their smoking put them at risk of lung cancer and they are reluctant to get tested to find out they could have a fatal disease that they were warned about for years.
  • Former smokers who have friends or relatives that died of lung cancer are especially afraid of a diagnosis because they have seen the ravages of lung cancer.
  • Discussions about LDCT that extol the benefits and ignore the risks (which research indicates are typical of these conversations) are likely to be perceived as a sales pitch by skeptical patients. A more balanced conversation about what the procedure is like, the potential risks of screening, and what research says about the benefits is likely to be more effective.

NCHR firmly believes that patients deserve to make informed choices and need access to counseling and evidence-based shared decision-making tools in order to do so. For the reasons outlined above, we urge CMS to reconsider the proposed changes, to better ensure that patients receive accurate, balanced, unbiased information on whether or not they would benefit from LDCT screening.

References

  1. Brenner, A. T., Malo, T. L., Margolis, M., Lafata, J. E., James, S., Vu, M. B., & Reuland, D. S. (2018). Evaluating shared decision making for lung cancer screening. JAMA internal medicine, 178(10), 1311-1316.

Equal Access to Merck Covid Pill Imperiled by Prescribing Rules

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Celine Castronuovo and Jeannie Baumann, Bloomberg Law: December 2, 2021

The potential for Merck & Co’s Covid-19 pill to stave off severe disease could be thwarted by prescription requirements that will make access more difficult for some of the hardest-hit Americans, health researchers say.

The drug gained a key recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration’s advisory committee in a 13-10 vote. Merck’s antiviral drug molnupiravir—if authorized by the agency—would offer for the first time in the U.S. an at-home treatment option for patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 who are at risk of severe disease. The company says it expects its pill to work against the new omicron variant.

Molnupiravir, like all existing Covid-19 treatments, likely will only be available with a prescription. But that could pose a challenge for minority groups that disproportionately experience language, transportation, and other barriers that limit easy access to primary care providers.

Existing safety and efficacy data on molnupiravir didn’t take “into consideration the minority population that may not have full access to a primary care physician in order to receive a prescription in order to take the drug, aside from going to an emergency room,” Roblena Walker, a member of the FDA Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee, said at the Nov. 30 meeting after the vote.

The concerns further highlight health disparities that the pandemic brought to the forefront.

[….]

Access Barriers

Easy access to primary care services, economic stability, and other social factors can play a role in the rate of Covid-19 infection and the severity of illness among communities of color, policy analysts say. U.S. life expectancy dropped an average of 1.5 years during the pandemic but for Black Americans, it was 2.9 years—widening an existing gap between Black and White Americans.

People in the U.S. who are Black, Asian, or Native American are typically less likely to have a usual primary care provider, according to a 2019 annual health disparities report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Data from the report also showed that lacking health insurance makes people more likely to not visit a physician regularly.

All existing Covid-19 interventions, except for vaccines, need prescriptions before being administered, Diana Zuckerman, founder and president of the National Center for Health Research, noted.

“There’s every reason for this treatment to require prescription,” Zuckerman said. She noted the modest benefit molnupiravir showed in existing trial data—it reduces the risk of hospitalization or death among adults with mild to moderate disease by 30%—and the concerns that remain, including whether the antiviral pill could lead to additional mutations of Covid-19.

[….]

Affordability

Monoclonal antibodies, such as the ones from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co., target the same patient population as molnupiravir, but they’re more expensive and must be administered in infusion centers.

The federal government should help make sure that cost doesn’t also present a barrier to Merck’s at-home treatment, Zuckerman said.

“If a decision is made to make this drug available, it should be available for free,” Zuckerman said. She added that community clinics “should have Covid testing there, and they should have access to this drug there in order to make it available to everybody who needs it.”

Zuckerman added that federal authorities’ goal for reducing drug access disparities should be to limit the costs patients, especially those without health insurance, would have to pay for the drug.

The federal government ordered about 3.1 million courses of molnupiravir to be made available to patients, with an option in its contract to purchase more than 2 million additional courses.

Target Population

Another obstacle to access is the limited research done on the drug’s impact on people with underlying conditions or other factors that may put them at greater risk for infection and serious illness from Covid-19.

Heart disease, a chronic illness, or some other condition that weakens a person’s immune system makes them more vulnerable to severe Covid-19 illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. FDA committee members, including those who voted in favor of recommending the Merck pill, addressed the need for more specific data to determine if molnupiravir could benefit these at-risk groups.

“There needs to be studies in vaccinated individuals, studies in those with prior infection, studies in immunocompromised, particularly to understand safety,” Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee chair Lindsey Baden said Nov. 30.

Given the Merck trial’s focus on unvaccinated individuals, the federal government could ultimately decide to restrict treatment access to those who are at higher risk and who have not gotten a Covid-19 shot— a move Zuckerman said could spark “tremendous political backlash.”

“People at high risk who are unvaccinated are unvaccinated, for the most part, because they didn’t want to get vaccinated,” she said. She added that making the drug available only for this population could prompt criticism because “nobody wants to encourage people to be not vaccinated.”

While an antiviral Covid-19 drug may not bring substantial benefits for all Americans, Zuckerman said getting tested for free at community clinics and getting vaccinated are among the other options available to stay protected against Covid-19 for those who are uninsured and without a primary care provider.

“The bottom line is for people without insurance, getting vaccinated is, by far, the best thing they can do,” she said.

To read the entire article, click here.

Biden’s Drug Agency Nominee Returns With Deeper Industry Ties

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Alex Ruoff, Jeannie Baumann and Celine Castronuovo, Bloomberg Business: November 23, 2021

President Joe Biden’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration made millions of dollars from health and drug companies since his last stint in government, raising new questions about his ties to firms the agency oversees.

Robert Califf was paid $2.7 million by Verily Life Sciences, the biomedical research organization operated by Alphabet Inc., and sits on the boards of two pharmaceutical companies, AmyriAD and Centessa Pharmaceuticals PLC. He also reported ties to 16 other research organizations and biotech companies, ethics and financial disclosure documents show.

Califf’s deep industry ties have prompted at least two Democratic senators to oppose his nomination, complicating his path to confirmation and echoing concerns that emerged when he was last nominated. While Califf previously was paid largely as a consultant for drugmakers before, in recent years he’s been hired as a top adviser and board member to major health-care companies creating innovative technologies and medicines.

[….]

Consulting, Stock Options

Califf’s reported income from the health industry skyrocketed between stints at the FDA.

Califf was a paid consultant for Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, AstraZeneca PLC, and Eli Lilly from 2009 to 2016, according to disclosures compiled by ProPublica. During this time he collected fees ranging from $2,160 to $9,000. Califf had also disclosed accepting consulting fees from drugmakers Amgen Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., and Merck & Co.

After his time leading the FDA, Califf earned $56,299 in fees from the biopharmaceutical firm Cytokinestics Inc. and unvested stock options worth as much as $5 million from Centessa Pharmaceuticals.

Califf is an expert in clinical trial research and cardiovascular medicine and founded the Duke Clinical Research Institute, a large academic center that received more than half its funding from the drug industry.

This kind of expertise is almost impossible to acquire without working with or for the pharmaceutical industry, David Magnus, director Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, said. Drugmakers have historically provided the funding for most clinical trials, he said.

[….]

During his first tour at the FDA, Califf kept a whiteboard in his office that listed all the activities and projects that required his recusal, Howard Sklamberg, who was a deputy commissioner under Califf, said.

“He was very, very, very careful,” Sklamberg, who’s now an attorney at Arnold & Porter LLP, said.

He may have more ties to track this time.

“It seems he would have to recuse himself from a large number of decisions,” Lisa Bero, chief scientist for the University of Colorado Center for Bioethics and Humanities, said.

Califf’s years of ties to the pharmaceutical industry don’t seem to have been “a deciding factor” in the White House’s nomination decision, Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, said in an interview with Bloomberg Law.

“Dr. Califf has these other very important, positive attributes of having been FDA commissioner, having been a high-level person at FDA even before he was commissioner, and having a track record of showing his commitment to scientific evidence,” Zuckerman said.

The plan offered by Califf to manage his financial interest appears to fairly standard and routine, New York University bioethicist Arthur Caplan said. “I don’t find it disqualifying that he has industry ties,” he said, adding that he’s breaking ties with for-profit, academia, and other think tank types of organizations. Califf “showed himself to be independent and fair” when he was last at the agency, Caplan said.

To read the entire article, click here.

The road ahead for Califf’s confirmation

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Marisa Fernandez, Axios and Yahoo News: November 15, 2021

It’s taken about 10 months for President Biden to name a nominee for the role of permanent FDA commissioner — former FDA chief Robert Califf — and it’s unlikely his confirmation will be complete before the end of 2021.

Why it matters: The agency has been without a Senate-approved commissioner for nearly a year, all while playing a central role in the response to the ongoing COVID pandemic.

The selection of the former commissioner came after the White House dropped several prior candidates, including acting commissioner Janet Woodcock, who faced strong opposition over her pharmaceutical ties, the New York Times reports.

[….]

What to watch: Califf was confirmed in 2016 by an 89-4 vote, but he’ll still face some questions over his ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal, who voted against Califf last time, all reiterated their concern on Friday.

  • He was the founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, where he worked closely with drug companies and received consulting fees prior to his first stint as FDA commissioner. More recently, he’s served as a senior adviser for Verily and Google Health.
  • “The public has been asking if they can trust the FDA to ensure that the benefits outweigh the risks for Alzheimer’s drugs, cancer treatments, and implanted devices,” Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, a non-partisan non-profit think tank, told Axios.

[….]

To read the entire article, click here.

Biden Picks Robert Califf to Head the FDA for a Second Time

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Chloe Tenn, The Scientist: November 12, 2021

President Joe Biden announced today (November 12) his nomination of Robert Califf for the role of commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. Califf previously helmed the FDA for the Obama administration in 2016, but many of his plans were left unfinished during his 10-month tenure, reports STAT. His nomination will need to be confirmed by the Senate before he can assume the position again.

While commissioner, Califf made efforts toward reforming medical digital data systems and regulating tobacco products like e-cigarettes, according to STAT. Some of his initiatives, such as creating a collaborative organization to collect and distribute medical data nationally and improving the FDA hiring system, did not take effect.

After leaving the FDA commissioner position in 2017, Califf joined Verily, a biotechnology company with the same parent company as Google. There he led efforts to streamline and modernize clinical trials and medical data collection. He was also a consultant for pharmaceutical companies like Merck, Biogen, and Genentech, reports The New York Times.

[….]

Diana Zuckerman, the president of the nonprofit National Center for Health Research, tells the Times that “It is surprising that the White House has seemed really tone-deaf on conflicts of interest and very close ties to the industry.”

[….]

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Biden to Choose Robert Califf to Lead F.D.A., Despite Drug Industry Ties

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Sheila Kaplan, The New York Times: November 12, 2021

WASHINGTON — President Biden on Friday is expected to nominate Dr. Robert M. Califf, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to lead the agency again, several people familiar with the planning said. The move would end nearly a year of political wrangling as the White House vetted then dropped several candidates after complaints that some were too close to the pharmaceutical industry.

In the end, White House officials might have concluded that they could not find a suitable candidate with no industry ties. Dr. Califf, 70, a respected academic and clinical trial researcher who ran the agency during the last year of the Obama administration, has long been a consultant to drug companies and ran a research center at Duke University that received some funding from the drug industry.

During his previous stint as commissioner, Dr. Califf sought to permit pharmaceutical companies to advertise off-label uses for F.D.A.-approved products, a practice that is not permitted under the strict regulations governing drug advertising. But the proposal, which many public health experts considered dangerous, was blocked by others in the Obama administration, according to a person familiar with it.

A cardiologist who has seen the harmful effects of smoking on the heart, Dr. Califf has been a forceful advocate for tobacco control; before he was the F.D.A. commissioner, he was the agency’s deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco. In an appearance with other former commissioners this year, he said, “I have never seen more capable or nastier lawyers than what I experienced in trying to deal with the tobacco industry.”

He added, “It was awesome and quite frightening for public health.”

For the past two years, after stepping down as the vice chancellor for clinical and translational health at Duke University, Dr. Califf has worked as senior adviser to Verily Life Sciences, a health technology firm, and its sister company Google Health. He has encouraged Verily to focus on addiction, cardiovascular health and management of chronic diseases, according to a person at the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

[….]

Dr. Califf’s relationships with pharmaceutical companies as a clinical trials researcher proved to be a liability during his Senate confirmation process in 2016. Mr. Manchin blasted him for “big pharma ties” and voted against him.

Dr. Califf was confirmed for the job in a vote of 89 to 4; in addition to Mr. Manchin, Senators Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts; Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut; and Kelly Ayotte, Republican of New Hampshire, voted against him. But other Republicans, led by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, then the majority leader, voted in favor.

That support may be one reason Mr. Biden picked Mr. Califf: His selection drew mixed reaction.

“It is surprising that the White House has seemed really tone-deaf on conflicts of interest and very close ties to the industry,” said Diana Zuckerman, the president of the National Center for Health Research, a nonprofit think tank.

But others said they believed that Dr. Califf’s industry experience should not bar him from the job, noting that he has disclosed his ties in publishing the results of clinical trials.

“The truth of the matter is industry develops drugs — you have to work with industry. The issue is disclosure in publication,” said Ellen V. Sigal, the founder and chairwoman of the nonprofit Friends of Cancer Research, which accepts industry funding. “Rob has done many, many clinical trials with industry, but he has not been a pawn of industry. He’s completely committed to transparency, integrity and science.”

[….]

But Dr. [Aaron] Kesselheim objected to Dr. Califf’s efforts, when he was the commissioner, to allow drug companies to advertise off-label uses for their products, noting that patients can be endangered by drugs that are prescribed for uses that the F.D.A. has not approved. “That to me is a red flag,” Dr. Kesselheim said. “Hopefully, he’s moved past that as an idea, because it would be a terrible idea.”

[….]

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Biden picks ex-FDA chief Robert Califf to again lead agency

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Matthew Perrone and Zeke Miller, AP News: November 12, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday is tapping Dr. Robert Califf, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, to again lead the powerful regulatory agency, according to a person familiar with the decision.

Califf’s nomination comes after months of the concern that the agency near the center of the government’s COVID-19 response has lacked a permanent leader. More than a half-dozen names were floated for the job before the White House settled on Califf.

Biden is to make the formal announcement later Friday, said the person familiar, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

A cardiologist and clinical trial specialist, Califf, 70, served as FDA commissioner for the last 11 months of President Barack Obama’s second term. Before that, he spent one year as the agency’s No. 2 official after more than 35 years as a prominent researcher at Duke University, where he helped design studies for many of the world’s biggest drugmakers.

Since leaving the government, he has worked as a policy adviser to tech giant Google, in addition to his ongoing academic work at Duke.

[….]

Califf arrived at the FDA in 2015 determined to modernize how the agency reviewed drug and device study data. But his brief time as commissioner was dominated by unrelated pharmaceutical controversies, including the surging epidemic of opioid addiction and overdoses.

He was among the first FDA officials to publicly acknowledge missteps in the agency’s oversight of painkillers like OxyContin, which is widely blamed for sparking the ongoing opioid epidemic, now driven by heroin and fentanyl.

“If addiction to opioids and misuse of opioids is an enemy then we at the FDA — like every other part of society — underestimated the tenacity of the enemy,” Califf told The Associated Press in a 2016 interview. “So we’ve got to adjust.”

Califf’s extensive work with the drug industry drew scrutiny during his Senate confirmation hearing, though he was ultimately confirmed by an overwhelming margin. Given the pressing need for a permanent commissioner, he is expected to again win bipartisan confirmation. He also has the backing of the powerful pharmaceutical and medical device lobbying groups in Washington.

[….]

FDA watchers said Califf had several key advantages over other candidates vetted for the job, several of whom would have faced more scrutiny in the Senate.

“He knows how the FDA works, and he avoided making any outrageous decisions as commissioner,” said Diana Zuckerman of the non-profit National Center for Health Research. “Those are essential if the FDA is going to regain the public trust.”

His first tasks would include easing burnout and boosting morale among the FDA’s 18,000 employees. The agency’s medical reviewers have been straining for months under a crushing coronavirus pandemic workload, while the agency’s reputation for scientific independence has been battered by a string of public controversies.

Two congressional committees are investigating the agency’s June approval of the much-debated Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm against the recommendation of its outside experts, three of whom resigned over the decision. Then in September, two top FDA vaccine regulators announced they would leave the agency after disagreeing with the Biden administration plan to make COVID-19 vaccines boosters widely available.

[….]

To read the entire article, click here.

Biden expected to tap Califf as FDA commissioner

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Emily Kopp, Roll Call: November 12, 2021

President Joe Biden is expected to tap Robert Califf to again serve as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Califf, who previously helmed the FDA in the final year of the Obama administration, is seen as a status quo choice.

Independent experts say Califf has decades of experience in the development and conduct of clinical trials. That resume has brought Califf in frequent contact with both the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry he would be charged with regulating.

[….]

Califf had such strong bipartisan support that when Trump took office in early 2017, many pharmaceutical and medical device industry officials expressed hope he would continue on as the FDA’s leader.

“My feeling about Califf is that he’s a political compromise. His nomination shows the power of pharma. But despite his close ties to pharma, he has always talked about the importance of solid scientific evidence.” said Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, a think tank in Washington, D.C. “I have some confidence that Dr. Califf is not someone who likes controversy. That is different than Dr. Woodcock who doesn’t seem to mind controversy at all. I’m hopeful he will really focus on the science in a way that has been missing lately at FDA.”

Califf’s background

Califf is a longtime cardiologist and a professor in the school of medicine at Duke University. Califf also served as founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, a partnership between the university and pharmaceutical companies with the goal of innovating clinical trial design. He led it for a decade. The research institute receives about half of its funding from the pharmaceutical industry and half from the government, according to a 2020 report. He founded the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative, a collaboration between the FDA and Duke on improving the speed and reducing the cost of clinical trials, which collaborates with pharmaceutical companies.

Califf is also an executive at Verily Life Sciences, formerly Google Life Sciences, an Alphabet Inc. company.

[….]

But Califf has in several public statements voiced support for more patient input at the FDA.

Critics say this advocacy is often financed by the pharmaceutical industry, and the FDA often does not distinguish between authentic advocacy and these conflicts of interest.

Califf has also called for other changes to clinical trials supported by the pharmaceutical company, including greater reliance on real-world evidence pulled from electronic health records outside of a clinical trial and on biomarkers, biological signals a drug is working before it shows a clinical benefit.

“Of course, the devil’s always in the details. It’s fine to be supportive, for example, of biomarkers as a way to get information about potential benefits but it needs to be backed up by solid science,” said Zuckerman.

At the FDA, Califf would likely have to respond to an ongoing investigation by the Health and Human Services inspector general into the approval of the Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab. It was approved through FDA’s accelerated approval pathway based on the difference it made with a controversial biomarker, amyloid plaques.

[….]

To read the entire article, click here.

Biden chooses Robert Califf, former Obama FDA chief, as agency commissioner

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Laurie McGinley, Washington Post: November 12, 2021

President Biden is expected Friday to nominate former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Robert M. Califf to return as the agency’s head, ending a difficult, months-long search to find a leader for the sprawling bureaucracy on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement is expected later in the day, according to people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue.

Califf, 70, a renowned cardiologist and researcher, is senior adviser for Verily, a research organization devoted to the life sciences, and Google Health. He served as FDA commissioner during the last year of the Obama administration. Before that, he had a long career at Duke University School of Medicine, where he founded the Duke Clinical Research Institute, one of the largest academic clinical trial operations in the world.

Many FDA experts see Califf as a safe choice — an experienced hand who is unlikely to make abrupt changes as the agency navigates a tumultuous period marked by high-pressure reviews of coronavirus vaccines and therapies and hot-button issues involving Alzheimer’s treatments, opioids and tobacco products. An expert on clinical trials and other types of health data, Califf is likely to press for better evidence in assessing drugs and devices.

But others hoping for fresh leadership see Califf’s nomination as a missed opportunity. Some are uncomfortable with his longtime relationships with the pharmaceutical industry.

[….]

“I think he would be terrific,” said Harlan Krumholz, a cardiologist at Yale School of Medicine. “It is critically important to have a commissioner who can step in and knows the job and knows how to make policy decisions.”

Even some of the agency’s toughest critics say Califf is acceptable.

“Rob Califf is a good choice,” said Aaron S. Kesselheim, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who has faulted the FDA for approving drugs on what he considers flimsy evidence. “Califf certainly spent the vast majority of his early career working on clinical trials … and understands the value of rigorous data.”

But Califf’s longtime industry relationships have drawn criticism from some who argue the agency already is too close to the companies it regulates.

“Califf has a long history of extensive financial ties to Big Pharma, most significantly through pharmaceutical industry funding of the Duke Clinical Research Institute,” said Michael Carome, director of nonprofit Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, a consumer advocacy organization. “We need someone to tilt in the opposite direction and be more pro-public health and less pro-regulated industry.”

Some past critics, however, have softened their views of Califf. Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, a nonprofit think tank, said that while she still considers Califf’s industry ties to be a shortcoming, “He has certain qualities that are very good for the position. He has experience at the FDA and a commitment to science. That’s very important.”

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