Two candidates on Trump short list for FDA commissioner

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has two candidates on the short list for FDA commissioner, a source on the team told BioCentury. In addition to Scott Gottlieb, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who previously has been tipped for the job, the team is considering Jim O’Neill, a managing director at Mithril Capital. That firm was co-founded by Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who was an early backer of Trump’s presidential campaign.

Gottlieb, a practicing physician, is a former FDA deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs. He is also a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates, and is an advisor or board member for at least four medical product companies and one patient group (see BioCentury, Nov. 14, 2016)...