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McClellan was FDA commissioner from 2002 to 2004 and is now director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy.
NEWS | HEALTH & SCIENCE

Former FDA commissioner Mark McClellan comments on Trump's appointee to lead the agency

After Dr. Robert Califf stepped down from his position as commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced his new pick to head the agency—Dr. Scott Gottlieb. Gottlieb, a conservative, worked as a senior adviser to Dr. Mark McClellan when McClellan was FDA commissioner from 2002 to 2004. The Chronicle spoke with McClellan, now director of the new Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, about Gottlieb's nomination and his thoughts on rising drug prices and health care reform.


Dr. Robert Califf was FDA commissioner in President Obama's administration and is now a faculty member at the Duke Clinical Research Institute.
NEWS | HEALTH & SCIENCE

Former FDA commissioner Robert Califf talks dangers of drug importation

Senator Bernie Sanders and other Democrats recently introduced a bill to Congress that would allow commercial importation of drugs into the U.S. In response, four former commissioners of the Food and Drug Administration have penned an open letter, urging Congress to consider the risks of allowing drugs to be imported. The letter's authors included Dr. Margaret Hamberg, Dr. Andrew Von Eschenbach, Mark McClellan—current director of Duke’s Margolis Center for Health Policy—and Dr. Robert Califf—currently a faculty member at the Duke Clinical Research Institute. The Chronicle spoke with Califf, who served as commissioner from February 2016 to January 2017, about the letter and his views on the issue.