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Scott Gottlieb, who stepped down as the chief of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year, is joining Pfizer Inc.’s board of directors. Gottlieb previously served as the FDA’s deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs and as a senior adviser to the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he helped implement the Medicare drug benefit, advance policies to improve healthcare quality and promote the effective use of new medical technologies. He is also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Since leaving the FDA in April, he has returned to the American Enterprise Institute as a resident fellow and as a special partner at venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, where he worked before joining the FDA. In addition, he joined CNBC as a contributor.
“I’m honored to be joining the board of directors of Pfizer and working together with more than 90,000 Pfizer colleagues to promote medical innovation, advance patient care and secure access to better healthcare outcomes for families around the world,” he said. “Pfizer is uniquely positioned to continue having a big role in advancing global public health, and I’m honored to be a part of helping shape that future.”
During his tenure at the FDA, which began in May 2017, Gottlieb, 47, “advanced a number of prescription drug policies, including to push the FDA to speed up generic drug approvals in order to lower pharmaceutical costs and to use its powers to encourage wider use of biosimilars, or copycat versions of complex and often costly biologic drugs,” according to CNBC. A medical doctor, he was praised by drug companies for acting quickly during his time as head of the FDA to bring new treatments to market, reported Bloomberg News.
Biosimilar manufacturers, such as Pfizer, have complained about roadblocks stalling biosimilars from becoming widely used. With Gottlieb as a member of its board of directors, Pfizer, one of the world’s biggest biopharmaceutical companies, could benefit from his knowledge when putting new drugs on the market.
Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said, “Through his work as a physician and his time at the FDA, Scott has continually demonstrated an understanding of both patients’ needs and the rapidly changing dynamics of biopharmaceutical research and development.”
Bourla, who succeeded Ian Read on January 1, 2019, juggled Pfizer’s senior management team last year and is spearheading the effort to restructure the 150-year-old, New York-based company. A year ago Pfizer announced plans to reorganize the company into three operating units, separating out its consumer healthcare business that Pfizer had been attempting to sell. Pfizer collaborates with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world.
According to Read, “We are fortunate to have Dr. Gottlieb join Pfizer’s Board of Directors. Scott’s expertise in health care, public policy and the industry will be an asset to our company and enable our shareholders to continue to benefit from a board representing a balance of experience, competencies and perspectives.”
