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# Critics Say Gottlieb Helped Cephalon Get Fentanyl
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/critics-say-gottlieb-helped-cephalon-get-fentanyl/
- Published: 2017-04-25T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T22:19:30.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5138539

Critics of **Scott Gottlieb**’s nomination as FDA commissioner question the role he played in 2006 in helping Cephalon secure more fentanyl for its opioid lollipop used by some cancer patients. The *Washington Post* [reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nominee-to-head-fda-joined-effort-to-get-a-drug-company-more-fentanyl/2017/04/24/ea761518-26ad-11e7-bb9d-8cd6118e1409%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.f3b0890e427f&ref=fdaweb.com) that at the time that Gottlieb (who was then an FDA deputy commissioner) and other top agency officials were acting on behalf of Cephalon, the company was under investigation for illegally pushing doctors to prescribe the drug for other uses from headaches to back pain.

The critics say that Gottlieb’s role in 2006 demonstrates the kind of friendly relationship with the drug industry that they fear he will create at FDA if confirmed. “When the prescription opioid epidemic was exploding, it appears Dr. Gottlieb advocated to put even more addictive fentanyl onto the market when it wasn’t appropriate or necessary,” Sen. **Edward Markey** (D-MA), who has previously criticized Gottlieb’s ties to the drug industry, told the *Post*. “We cannot have a leader at FDA who has aided and abetted the prescription drug and heroin epidemic by pushing more addictive, deadly opioids onto the American public.”

The newspaper says Gottlieb declined to comment, citing the long tradition of remaining silent before a Senate committee vote on his nomination. However, former agency attorney **Sheldon Bradshaw** said that Gottlieb’s role was minimal, participating in a meeting of FDA and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials because protocol called for a deputy commissioner to be present. He said Gottlieb’s responsibility was to help FDA protect legitimate pain patients from possible shortages of critical analgesics.

“FDA isn’t there to shill on behalf of Cephalon,” Bradshaw said. “They’re there to inform the DEA what the medical needs are.”

Gottlieb has said he will recuse himself from decisions involving more than 20 companies he has worked for, invested in, or had some other kind of financial relationship with for a year. He also said he will resign as a member of GlaxoSmithKline’s product investment board. The *Post* says there is no evidence in his financial disclosure statements that he has accepted any payments from Cephalon, which was acquired by Teva in 2011.  
  
In a document submitted to the Senate as part of the confirmation process that was obtained by the newspaper, he wrote that “none of my actions were undertaken on behalf of, or intended to benefit, a particular person or company. Rather, my role was to represent the agency’s public health positions.”