FDA’s Gottlieb heads back to AEI to tackle drug prices

The soon-to-be former commissioner wants to delve into “market failures.”

By Laurie McGinley April 4 at 7:00 AM

Scott Gottlieb, who will step down as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration on Friday, plans to return to the American Enterprise Institute to focus on drug prices — a hotly debated area that has been peripheral to his current job, he said in an interview.

The 46-year-old physician, who has been commuting weekly to Washington from his home in Connecticut, said he plans to spend a half-dozen days a month in Washington as a resident fellow at the conservative think tank. Besides that, he said, he has no commitments for now other than taking his family to Disney World.

Gottlieb announced last month that he was leaving his post to spend more time with his wife and three young daughters. In a recent interview, he said he would explore other opportunities besides AEI at an appropriate time, “but I don’t know what they are right now.”

Before becoming FDA commissioner in May 2017, Gottlieb was a resident fellow at the think tank, using his perch to write numerous op-eds for the Wall Street Journal and other publications. He also was a partner at a venture capital firm, held various board positions and consulting jobs for pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and worked as a hospitalist at the New York University School of Medicine.

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