Quite a legacy Dr. Gottlieb is leaving the country with as watchdog for the safety and lives of the American people. With his financial interest in the vaping or e-cigarette industry, he should be able to live a rather comfortable life — as a lapdog.
Marianne Skolek Perez, Investigative Reporter
(MYRTLE BEACH) After a stint of less than two years as Commissioner of the FDA, Scott Gottlieb, MD has announced his resignation to “spend more time with his family.”
On February 24, CBS 60 Minutes aired a segment on the opioid epidemic featuring a high-ranking executive from the pharmaceutical industry, Ed Thompson. Thompson has many years experience in the industry and, in fact, produces opioids for pharma and bravely accused the FDA of opening the floodgates on the opioid epidemic. He went so far in the interview as saying “the root cause of this epidemic is the FDA’s illegal approval of opioids for the treatment of chronic pain.”
In the telecast, David Kessler, MD former FDA Commissioner when the maker of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma had their highly addictive opioid first approved in the early 1990’s was also featured. When Kessler left the FDA, the labeling on OxyContin was changed to “long-term use” which according to Kessler was a mistake. He further stated there were never studies conducted on the safety or efficacy of opioids for long-term use.
Under the tenure of Dr. Gottlieb, an opioid 1,000 times more powerful than morphine and 5 to 10 times stronger than fentanyl was approved. It is a dissolvable sufentanil also known as Dsuvia. This approval was given during an ever raging opioid crisis in every town and city in the country.
Raeford Brown, MD, as Chairman of the FDA Drug Safety Advisory Committee reviewed the safety and need for the dangerous opioid and warned it would be abused and fuel overdose deaths as well as be diverted to the black market. Dr. Gottlieb overrode Dr. Brown’s warning and sufentanil or Dsuvia was approved. Dr. Brown was quoted as saying the FDA “is having a direct impact on the mortality rate from opioids in this country by continuing to approve new high-risk drugs.”
As informative as the CBS 60 Minutes broadcast was on the FDA fueling the opioid epidemic, there is another crisis brewing in our country and Dr. Gottlieb has taken quite an interest in it — or rather may have quite an interest in it.
Vaping or e-cigarettes seemed to be the focus of Gottlieb’s stay with the FDA and he was quite vocal on his promise to increase efforts to keep kids from getting hooked on e-cigarettes and even went on record as saying the FDA was considering a temporary ban on them. Quite commendable of Dr. Gottlieb and quite a legacy to leave in the wake of just under two years as Commissioner of the FDA, but there is a problem here.
In April 2013, Gottlieb was made a managing director of T.R. Winston and Co., a merchant bank. One of Winston’s clients, Kure, is a manufacturer of vaping products. Gottlieb was on Kure’s board from March 2015 to May 2016 and had a financial interest in the company as well as a financial interest in 13 Winston clients. Winston-related income made up 60% of Gottlieb’s earnings of $3 million since the beginning of 2016.
Quite a legacy Dr. Gottlieb is leaving the country with as watchdog for the safety and lives of the American people. With his financial interest in the vaping or e-cigarette industry, he should be able to live a rather comfortable life — as a lapdog.
Marianne Skolek Perez
Consultant to attorneys on opioid lawsuits filed throughout the countryInvestigative Reporter covering the opioid epidemic writing forGlobal News Centre, Salem-News.com, Sons of Liberty Media, The Washington Standard and Freedom Outpost
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Global News Centre’s Marianne Skolek, is an Investigative Reporter who focuses on the Prescription Opioid/Heroin Epidemic in the U.S. and Canada. In particular, Marianne has covered the criminal marketing of OxyContin going back to 1999 and continuing to the present.
In 2002, Marianne lost her daughter, Jill to prescribed OxyContin which her physician referred to as “mobility in a bottle.” It was, in fact, death in a bottle. After doing extensive research on the maker of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, Marianne began working with the Department of Justice in Virginia in their criminal investigation into Purdue Pharma and in July 2007 was asked by the U.S. Attorney John Brownlee prosecuting the case to testify against the three CEO’s of Purdue Pharma, Michael Friedman, Paul Goldenheim, MD and Howard Udell, Chief Counsel. The CEO’s pleaded guilty to misleading the medical profession about the dangers of OxyContin. Marianne also testified against Purdue Pharma at a Judiciary Hearing of the U.S. Senate in July 2007.
In addition, a dangerous and highly addictive opioid named Zohydro has been approved by the FDA against their Advisory Committee’s advice and Marianne continues to alert Attorneys General, Senators and Congressmen as to the FDA’s irresponsibility in the out of control prescription opioid/heroin epidemic killing and addicting in the tens of thousands each year. Zohydro has been referred to as “heroin in a capsule” and its lowest dosage (10mg) contains twice as much hydrocodone as found in a Vicodin pill. The highest single dose of Zohydro contains as much hydrocodone as 5 to 10 tablets of Vicodin or Lortab. Zohydro mixed with alcohol can be fatal and has no abuse deterrent built in which will make it easy to crush and deliver a fatal dose of the opioid.
Currently Marianne has been instrumental in calling for the termination of Margaret Hamburg, MD, Commissioner of the FDA as well as Bob A. Rappaport, MD and Douglas Throckmorton, MD for their lack of commitment to safeguarding the American public against the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic. Marianne’s research, writing and contact with government agencies and attorneys has also exposed the heavily funded pain foundations set up by the pharmaceutical industry and their paid physician spokespersons who convinced the medical boards in 50 states and Canada that dangerous opioids such as OxyContin were less likely to be addictive. These physicians — in particular Scott Fishman, MD, J. David Haddox, DDS, MD, Perry Fine, MD, Lynn R. Webster, MD, Russell Portenoy, MD also downplayed the risks of addictive opioids in books as authors. These books are still available for sale and promoted to the medical profession.
Here are links to Marianne’s involvement in exposing the national conspiracy of the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic, the FDA, the pharmaceutical industry, their pain foundations and paid physician spokespersons.
http://www.salem-news.com/by_author.php?reporter=Marianne%20Skolek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmPG1VjD61U&list=UUWoHUEr4ZAbQOfIqtOArjgg&index=6&feature=plcp
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=855537227796352&set=vb.658186307531446&type=2&theater
