The Gold Report Weekly Wrap-Up

Check out this week’s stories and updates, with commentary from Dr. Simone Gold

Dr. Simone Gold

Jun 28, 2025

Explore this week’s op-eds from Dr. Gold:

WATCH: The Stephen Gardner Show with Dr. Simone Gold - A Scam Was Perpetrated on the People

AVAILABLE NOW! ‘Selective Persecution: The Legalization of American Fascism’ — by Dr. Simone Gold, foreword by Dennis Prager

Exit Strategy: How the FDA Became Pharma’s Recruitment Hub

The FDA’s cozy ties with the pharmaceutical industry have become impossible to ignore. The COVID-19 crisis merely exposed what many had long suspected: America’s drug regulator has been captured by corporations. The public is now aware of the notorious “revolving door” between the FDA and the industry it claims to oversee. But how far does this corruption go? This article—the fourth in a five-part series on the FDA—examines the financial and professional ties that bind the agency to the very companies it is supposed to regulate.

In February, Pfizer appointed Patrizia Cavazzoni as its new chief medical officer. Until just weeks earlier, Cavazzoni ran the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), the office responsible for regulating pharmaceutical products sold to the American people. She stepped down in January following President Trump’s return to the White House. Her swift transition into a top role at Pfizer is not unusual. It’s the norm.

Every FDA commissioner since the year 2000 has moved into high-level industry positions. Robert Califf secured executive roles at Verily Life Sciences and Google Health between his two stints at the agency. Scott Gottlieb joined the boards of Pfizer and Illumina. Andrew von Eschenbach served on the boards of BioTime and Viamet Pharmaceuticals. Mark McClellan went to Johnson & Johnson and Cigna. Jane Henney joined AstraZeneca’s board. Margaret Hamburg took a seat on the board of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals after her term at the FDA. While she was still commissioner, Hamburg held financial interests in FDA-regulated companies via an exclusive hedge fund operated by her husband’s firm.

The problem is not limited to the FDA. A study found that one-third of all 78 presidential appointees to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) between 2004 and 2020 took private-sector jobs that raised serious concerns about conflicts of interest.

The American people have tolerated this kind of corruption for far too long. Public health agencies cannot serve the people while funded and staffed by the same corporations they are supposed to regulate. Nearly half of the FDA’s budget now comes from user fees paid by drug companies—companies that meet behind closed doors with agency officials, away from public scrutiny. The system is so rigged that officials no longer bother pretending. Former FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg once admitted that it was “unfortunate” some believe there should be “a complete division” between the agency and the industry.

But for the first time in decades, we are witnessing a change. RFK Jr. has pledged to shut the revolving door between regulators and the drug industry. FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary has demonstrated that he understands this is not just a job—it’s a duty to the American people. The FDA exists to protect the public, not to enrich the powerful. For once, Americans are finally getting what they deserve: honest leadership.

Bidding War: Inside the FDA’s Unofficial Pharma Job Market

This final article in our series on FDA corruption exposes what may be the most disturbing truth of all: the culture of the agency itself is built to serve Big Pharma. According to insiders, FDA employees learn that loyalty to the drug industry is the key to career advancement. Pro-pharma equals promotion. At CDER, annual awards are given to drug approval teams, but never to those who reject dangerous or ineffective drugs. When a new drug is approved, higher-ups send congratulatory emails to the review teams.

The pressure to approve comes from the top. Employees know that rubber-stamping drugs avoids congressional scrutiny. One insider put it bluntly: drug approvals are what “keep Congress off their back.” Within the agency, success is measured by the number and speed of approvals, not by how many unsafe drugs are kept off the market. Even the FDA’s own advisory teams are stocked with members who have one foot in the drug industry.

How do we dismantle this culture of corruption at the FDA? An agency that employees use as a stepping stone to Big Pharma? It won’t be easy. Step one is to reset the agency’s mission. Every employee must understand that the FDA exists for one reason only: to protect the health of the American people. As RFK Jr. recently explained, the agency is being restructured so that those who want to keep their jobs must begin each day asking themselves, “What am I doing to end the chronic disease epidemic today?” That’s the foundation.

Step two is accountability. Those who are not aligned with that mission must be identified and replaced. That includes removing advisory committee members with glaring conflicts of interest—a reform Dr. Makary has vowed to carry out. Yes, some employees will say the right things to stay in place long enough to land a cushy job at a drug company. But I believe Dr. Makary knows exactly what he’s up against, and RFK Jr. has said they expect to “correct the course” before President Trump’s term ends. I’m confident they will succeed.