The Revolving Doors Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and the FDA
March 2025
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has announced that Patrizia Cavazzoni will return to the company and serve as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President.
Until recently, Cavazzoni served as the Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the FDA, a role in which she led and made decisions on drug approvals and registrations. She held this position from 2021 until mid-January 2025.
Prior to joining the FDA, Cavazzoni held several senior positions in the pharmaceutical industry, including at major pharma companies such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi.
Cavazzoni’s return to the private sector once again highlights the phenomenon of the "revolving door" between the FDA and pharmaceutical companies—an issue that raises significant ethical concerns and undermines public trust in the FDA as a professional agency that is supposed to prioritize public health above all else.
At a time when justified criticism of Kennedy’s appointment as U.S. Secretary of Health is growing, it is important to understand why segments of the public are increasingly distrustful of official institutions.
Nati Elkin
