Former CDER director joins Pfizer as new chief medical officer

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) yesterday revealed that Dr Patrizia Cavazzoni will rejoin the pharma giant as chief medical officer, executive vice president.

Dr Cavazzoni was most recently director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where she ensured the availability of safe and effective medicines and led the regulatory and policy decisions on prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

Observers have noted that the appointment could receive sharper scrutiny as Robert F Kennedy Jr, newly sworn in as the US health secretary, has made rooting out “conflicts of interest” at agencies like the FDA a top priority.