After pulling out of his presidential campaign, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will still earn a seat in the Senate as Trump's newly-appointed Health secretary. However, he vowed that there would be major changes in the US Food and Drug Administration.
Because of his long history as an environmentalist and also because of his views on vaccines that are much-maligned-RF Kennedy Jr. has pointed fingers at the FDA for being too cozy with the large pharma industry.
In a report by Reuters, Trump's Health Secretary will reconfigure the FDA - an authority that is supposed to supervise over $3 trillion worth of medicines, food, as well as tobacco products, after stating that the agency has more priority on corporate interests than public health as a way of serving the American people.
The promises by Kennedy on purging the FDA came when the big pharma industry was also under attack after heavily funding the FDA to support its operations through user fees that include product reviews and clinical trials. These fees make up nearly half of the annual budgets for the agency, which also raises the concern of conflict of interest.
However, RFK Jr's determination to reform the system will squarely place him against the titans of the pharma industry, an important participant in the US economy,
Pharmaceutical Industry to RFK Jr.'s Threats
On its part, pharmaceutical leaders sounded the alarm that Kennedy's stance against vaccines and his skepticism over the FDA's current policy may weaken the agency's power to allow lifesaving drugs.
For example, some industry leaders have supported the FDA, such as AstraZeneca's Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot, saying it is both efficient and globally reputable.
While many claim that appointing such a person with this sort of opinion toward public health would pose a threat to national stability, Kennedy's argument is that vaccine denialism, which seems to comprise much of his message, may also prove dangerous when the world battles its major health crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per BBC, the nomination of Kennedy to the position of Health Secretary has flared up another round of reflections on the future of the FDA and its relations with the pharmaceutical industry. Some believe that Kennedy might be a strong reformer, whereas others are so confident it will all have just the opposite impact.
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