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Dr. Scott Gottlieb has been preparing for this job his whole life. He’s a physician and a conservative policy wonk. He’s been a federal regulator scrutinizing new drugs. He’s a writer. An investor. And a consultant: He’s made a lot of money advising biopharma executives on how to get through the bureaucratic thickets of the Food and Drug Administration. (Kaplan, 4/5)

Dr. Scott Gottlieb makes no apologies for his work with the pharma industry. He’s proud to say he’s helped launch a bevy of biotech startups. And he believes that his experience financing and advising drug companies can help him be a smarter, savvier commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. He’ll get a chance to make that case on Wednesday at his confirmation hearing. (Kaplan, 4/5)

Sen. Chris Murphy will introduce Scott Gottlieb, a Westport resident and candidate to head the Food and Drug Administration, to fellow members of the Senate panel that’s key to his confirmation – but that won’t keep the nominee from having a bit of a rough ride among Democrats. (Radelat, 4/4)

Two Democratic senators announced Tuesday that they oppose President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Food and Drug Administration, saying that he is too close financially to the pharmaceutical industry and unlikely to strengthen regulation of the opioid painkiller industry. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D., Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) are the first senators known to have publicly opposed the nominee, Dr. Scott Gottlieb. (Burton, 4/4)