Former FDA Chief Listed in CMS Database for Receiving Payments from AstraZeneca PLC, GlaxoSmithKline in 2015
In what might turn out to be an odd mistake, the current US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Rob Califf was included in a database of pharmaceutical company payments to physicians updated by the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Thursday.
The database says Califf received five payments from GlaxoSmithKline for travel, lodging, food and beverages, as well as a more than $5,000 consulting fee from AstraZeneca in 2015. In 2014, when he was not working for FDA, Califf received almost $32,000 from companies and in 2013, he received more than $28,000.
An FDA spokesperson told Focus: “We can’t immediately confirm the accuracy of data that dates back to 2015, but Commissioner Califf wasn’t on travel or at such an event on that date.
The database says Califf received five payments from GlaxoSmithKline for travel, lodging, food and beverages, as well as a more than $5,000 consulting fee from AstraZeneca in 2015. In 2014, when he was not working for FDA, Califf received almost $32,000 from companies and in 2013, he received more than $28,000.
An FDA spokesperson told Focus: “We can’t immediately confirm the accuracy of data that dates back to 2015, but Commissioner Califf wasn’t on travel or at such an event on that date.