It’s that man again... - July 23, 2008
Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline has hired a former FDA man as its new chief lawyer.
Daniel Troy was chief counsel for the Food and Drug Administration and its main link with the White House. Now he has signed on to be general counsel for GSK (press release).
This is a canny move because, as the Wall Street Journal notes, GSK is “facing various federal and congressional investigations”. As the rather-excellently named Pharma Giles comments on The Lawyer’s item: “That’s a good hire from GSK, getting closer to the regulator will make a big difference.”
Ed Silverman at Pharmalot says, “This is a coup for Glaxo, because Troy is widely known - some might say notorious - for being supportive of the pharmaceutical industry.”
Troy has backed the idea of ‘preemption’, which basically holds the industry should be protected against law-suits for products that had FDA approval. This argument will play out in the Supreme Court later this year.
As the TortDeform blog says, “Whatever his salary will be, he’ll be underpaid if his preemption policy is approved by the Supreme Court.”
