Today I noticed that Peter Rost — former Pfizer Marketing VP, turned drug industry whistle blower, author, and blogger — changed the name of his blog (again!) to PETER ROST FOR FDA COMMISSIONER.
It all started when I reported on Pharma Marketing Blog that FDA Intern — Strange visitor from an Ivy League school who came to FDA with powers and ability far beyond those of Janet Woodcock or even FDA commish Andy von Eschenbach! — announced her endorsement of Peter Rost as president-elect Obama’s nominee choice for the new FDA Commissioner (see “FDA Intern Supports Peter Rost for New FDA Commish!“).
Peter himself had re-published on his blog a 2004 press release in which Rahm Emanuel — Obama’s new Chief of Staff — expressed a glowing opinion of Rost (see “Emanuel Statement: Importation Press Conference with Pfizer Vice President Dr. Peter Rost“).
Shortly afterward, I decided to start my “Who Should Obama Nominate for FDA Commissioner?” survey (see “Vote for New FDA Commissioner: Let Obama Know“). I picked names of 10 contenders from opinions expressed by various bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere to include in the survey. Out of respect for FDA Intern, I included Peter Rost in that list. Respondents can also write-in their own choices.
I asked several bloggers to include notices about my survey on their blogs and a few, including Rost, did so.
What surprised me — and I think Rost as well — was that Rost became the leading contender very early on and still leads the pack with nearly 100 people voting to date (see “FDA Critics Lead the Pack of Contenders for New FDA Commissioner According to Poll!“). This despite the fact that I endorsed Susan Wood on Pharma Marketing Blog (see “Susan Wood: ‘The One to Take the Lead’ of the FDA“).
At first, Rost did not take himself seriously as a contender for FDA Commissioner. But he also saw the results of my survey and posted them to his site and the story was picked up by a German newspaper that obviously took all this seriously (see “Germany discusses possibility for Dr. Rost to become new FDA Commissioner“).
I also pointed out to Rost that the Obama transition team had a Web site where people could submit their resumes for government jobs in the Obama administration. Rost thanked me for the heads-up and quickly applied.
I also notified the Obama transition team about my survey and suggested they keep up with the results and comments from respondents when I publish them in an upcoming issue of Pharma Marketing News.
Here are the top contenders to date for FDA Commissioner nominee, according to my survey respondents:
- Peter Rost – 24.5%
- Steven Nissen — 14.9%
- Janet Woodcock — 12.8%
- Susan Wood — 10.6%
If we look at just respondents from the USA, the results are a bit different:
- Steven Nissen — 17.3%
- Peter Rost — 16.0 %
- Janet Woodcock — 12.0%
- Susan Wood — 12.0%
Of course, now that the ROST FOR FDA COMMISSIONER campaign is in full swing, we can expect even more votes for Rost!
What do you think? Is Rost your choice for FDA Commissioner? Vote now!
