"Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride."
Bette Davis – All About Eve
MSNBC Reports that Henry Waxman beat John Dingell in a 137-122 vote to be the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which Dingell currently chairs.
As I said yesterday in a talk that referenced this very contest - from Man of La Manch – "whether the stone hits the pitcher, or the pitcher hits the stone, it's going to be bad for the pitcher."
This committee has already been highly critical of the FDA and of pharmaceutical marketing practices. With this change, look for an even more intense scrutiny of the industry. Also, for those putting money on Dr. Steven Nissen as the new Obama FDA Commissioner, it is worth noting that Dr. Nissen developed an extremely close relationship with Waxman's office through the experience of the Avandia Congressional Hearings.
