STAT January 5, 2022
At his confirmation hearing last month to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Robert Califf was pressed by U.S. senators for his views on the opioid crisis, on tobacco and e-cigarette regulation, and on his relationship with pharmaceutical and tech companies.
Califf came prepared and, by all accounts, sailed through.
But the hearing did little to address a fundamental question: Who is Robert Califf, and what can we expect him to do?
As a reporter who has watched his career for more than 15 years and interviewed him countless times, I know of Califf as more than a vessel for one policy or another. He’s a pioneer when it comes to large-scale clinical trials. He’s a passionate believer in evidence-based...