Quotes by Scott Gottlieb

Politicians wage broad wars on medicine to claim thin strips of ideological terrain. This would be good political theater if there weren't so many human victims.

It is true that some off-label drug use is based on very unsettled science and has more risks. But medicine - and not just cancer care - involves lots of hard choices. And the more serious the disorder, often the more likely it is that for every right and wrong treatment choice there are many other practical decisions painted in shades of gray.

In fast moving fields like cancer, where doctors tailor treatments based on evidence that's constantly evolving, two years can be an eternity of waiting to learn about important science. For some patients, that interval can be fatal.

A respiratory pathogen may pose an asymmetric risk to America, given our culture, economy and federalist system.

America tolerates a heavy toll from the flu on health and productivity. But if Covid becomes a twin risk, the heath-care system will struggle to fight both at once.

Biologics must be grown in living systems - fermented, for example, in large vats of bacteria cells. This makes them hard to replicate. For decades, biologics weren't subject to competition from copycat generic medicines, even once patents and exclusivities had lapsed on originals.

The key to the generic-drug economic model is to keep entry prices low enough to attract multiple competitors.

When the price of a drug rises, it becomes profitable and the target of new competition.

In countries such as France and Germany, layers of bureaucracy like health boards have been specifically engineered to delay the adoption of new medical products and services, thus lowering spending.

Confronting a dangerous pandemic requires containing spread wherever it is reasonably possible. Sensible measures such as universal masking, testing and widespread and rapid contact tracing can help. The best way to protect the vulnerable is to try to protect everyone.