Gottlieb Nomination Moves Forward With a Pledge to Keep Tabs on Devices

The confirmation of Scott Gottlieb as the next FDA commissioner moved one step closer after a Senate panel voted 14-9 in his favor.

The final step in the process, a Senate floor vote, is expected in early May.

Gottlieb has pledged that under his leadership, the FDA will ramp up efforts to keep tabs on medical devices after they are approved. Still, having received hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting and other fees from the device and pharma industries in recent years, questions about his ability to be objective in this and other areas have dogged his nomination.