E4 | Your Drug Watchdog Was Auditioning for Big Pharma

The FDA is supposed to be your watchdog. The agency that stands between you and an industry that, left unchecked, will prioritize profits over your safety. So what happens when the watchdog goes to work for the industry it was supposed to be watching?In Episode 4, Rob Burgess names names. Three of them. Patrizia Cavazzoni ran the FDA's drug approval center for years — then left for Pfizer as Chief Medical Officer. Peter Marks spent nine years as the FDA's top vaccine regulator — then landed at Eli Lilly as Senior Vice President. Scott Gottlieb ran the entire FDA — then joined Pfizer's board of directors within months of leaving. Rob breaks down what each of them knew, what that knowledge is worth, and why the current law allows all of it.In this episode:How the FDA actually works — and why the people running it hold enormous power over the entire pharmaceutical industryPatrizia Cavazzoni: eight years at Pfizer, then head of FDA drug approvals, then back to Pfizer as CMOPeter Marks: nine years overseeing FDA vaccine approvals, then Senior VP at Eli Lilly — alongside his former deputyScott Gottlieb: ran the whole FDA, joined Pfizer's board within months, and still appears in the press as a "neutral" voice on drug policyWhy the FDA's funding structure — hundreds of millions in fees paid directly by pharma — creates a conflict of interest baked into the systemWhy this is a conservative issue, not a progressive one — and the difference between regulation and regulatory captureFour specific reforms that would actually fix it: longer cooling off periods, a ban on board service, mandatory public disclosure, and enforceable recusalThe bottom line: The people running America's drug approval process are one year away from going to work for the companies that want drugs to be expensive. That's not America First. That's industry first.🔔 New episodes every week — subscribe so you don't miss one. 🌐 Get involved at BustBigPharma.com