FDA commissioner nominee Scott Gottlieb was grilled by a Senate panel over his financial ties to the industry he would be charged with regulating.

The April 5 hearing marked Gottlieb’s 19th time testifying before Congress on health care issues, and his experience showed.

He described how he would run the agency and address the challenges facing it, especially the opioid epidemic, and the cost of drug approvals.

“I believe in the gold standard for safety and effectiveness,” he said, responding to a question on Phase III clinical trials, before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.