Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Eyes Silicon Valley As Recruiting Ground For FDA Chief
The Wall Street Journal: Donald Trump Looking Beyond Traditional Medical Experts For FDA Commissioner
President-elect Donald J. Trump is reaching beyond traditional medical experts in his search for a new Food and Drug Administration commissioner, scheduling meetings for the FDA job with two Silicon Valley investors backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel. The two are James O’Neill, a managing director of the investment firm Mithril Capital Management, and Balaji S. Srinivasan, a venture capital board member who founded the genetic-counseling firm Counsyl Inc. (Burton, 1/13)
Bloomberg: Trump Is Considering Another Thiel Associate To Lead FDA
President-elect Donald Trump is considering former biotechnology industry executive Balaji Srinivasan to lead the Food and Drug Administration, according to people familiar with the matter, putting another candidate in the running who is aligned with venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Srinivasan co-founded Counsyl Inc. and helped develop a pregnancy test to quickly detect Down syndrome and other severe, chromosome-related birth defects. That could put him at odds with Republicans, since such tests are used early in pregnancy to help couples make decisions about abortion. (Cortez and Edney, 1/13)
