Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf is disputing a federal payment database that shows he received a financial benefit from a major drugmaker while on a trip last year.
According to agency records, Califf received $363 last year from pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline for lodging and food expenses, a benefit that could be a violation of agency policy. Those records show the benefit was received before Califf became the commissioner, but while he was an employee of the FDA.
But the FDA said that the commissioner is disputing the payment, and GSK said that the payment was for a 2014 trip. The payments were $341 in travel and lodging to go to an event on Dec. 15. He also received about $22 for food.
“Commissioner Califf has filed a dispute with CMS in regard to the reported data,” according to an FDA spokesperson. “Throughout his government service, he has strictly adhered to federal ethics requirements and has no financial ties to industry.”
GSK also told the Examiner that the payments were for a 2014 event, before Califf went to work at the FDA. The reason it got reported now was that an external vendor was “delayed in sending us the invoice for the payments and transfers of value, and as such the information was reported in our 2015 data,” the company said.
It is against FDA policy to take trips paid for by the industries it regulates, including medical device and drug companies.
Califf’s ties to pharmaceutical companies were a sticking point for some lawmakers during his confirmation process, as some critics said he was too close to pharma to regulate it.
The Senate confirmed Califf by an 89-4 vote in February. He drew objections from several senators who were skeptical of his industry ties and wondered if he would do enough to combat opioid abuse.
Many lawmakers have criticized the FDA for approving too many opioids, contributing to an epidemic that kills more than 70 people a day by prescription painkiller or heroin overdose.
“I will be very vigilant in monitoring the FDA under Dr. Califf’s leadership to ensure they are making the changes needed to combat the opioid epidemic,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in a statement after Califf was confirmed. Manchin’s state has been hit very hard by opioid abuse.
Califf joined the FDA in late February 2015 as the deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco.
Before that, he served as a cardiologist and medical researcher for Duke University and conducted clinical trials on behalf of pharma companies.
The database does show another payment to Califf in 2015 of about $5,000 from AstraZeneca, but that was made before Califf joined the agency.
The payments were disclosed under the Open Payments database, which forces pharma companies to divulge payments to doctors and teaching hospitals for items such as sending a doctor to go to a lecture or paying for research.
In total, pharma companies gave out more than $7 billion in payments and stock options in 2015.
