“Unfortunately, Dr. Califf, you are not the exception to that rule,” Senator Sanders said, asking how the American people can “feel comfortable you’re going to stand up to this powerful special interest.”
“I have a history of doing that,” Dr. Califf replied, noting that he agreed to comply with the agency’s ethics pledge.
In May 2017, Dr. Califf joined Verily, the life sciences arm of Google, and reported $2.7 million in income and between $1 million and $5 million in stock from his role as head of clinical policy and strategy, according to an ethics disclosure. In another government ethics filing, he said he would resign from the position upon confirmation.
Dr. Califf’s pledges to modernize the F.D.A., though, echo arguments of his supporters, who say working in the industry provides critical knowledge and insight into lifesaving technology. He nodded to his recent experience in technocrat medicine, repeatedly invoking the need for better data to guide decision making.
“All F.D.A.’s actions regarding the products the agency regulates must focus on protecting consumers and patients,” he said. “Safety matters.”
His income disclosure indicated that he retired in November 2019 from Duke University, where he had been a tenured professor and founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. He continued to serve as an adjunct professor, but said he would resign from that role as well if confirmed.
Dr. Califf also said that he would resign from leadership roles at pharmaceutical and biotech firms, divest his stock and refrain from direct decision-making related to companies where he served as a compensated board director. He was awarded more than $1 million in unvested stock options as a board director of Centessa Pharmaceuticals, the disclosure shows, some of which will be “accelerated” so he can cash them out; other shares will be forfeited. The company is working on therapies for hemophilia, narcolepsy and other conditions. He earned at least another $850,000 from stock options in Cytokinetics Inc., a South San Francisco company developing therapies for people with impaired muscle function.
