Pfizer-Funded Pick to Lead National Institutes of Health Vows to Serve the Public

Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, 64, was nominated by President Joe Biden.

National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli (L), first lady Jill Biden (C), and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) at the University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Comprehensive Care Center in San Francisco on Oct. 7, 2022. John G. Mabanglo/Getty Images

The doctor nominated to lead the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) vowed to lawmakers on Oct. 18 to serve the public, and not pharmaceutical companies, if she is confirmed to the post.

“I will act with the goal of the very best interest of the American people if confirmed for this job,” Dr. Monica Bertagnolli told senators during questioning on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Dr. Bertagnolli, 64, pointed to an unpublished agreement with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that she described as including a promise not to join a major pharmaceutical firm within four years of leaving the government.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) questioned President Joe Biden’s nominee on her long history with pharmaceutical companies, including the hundreds of millions of dollars in funding she’s received from Pfizer over the years.

“Our country relies on its public officials to have their best interests in mind when performing their duties as public servants,” Mr. Braun asked. “How can the American people be sure that, as NIH director, you would be focused on the job at hand, rather than boosting the business of any past associates in the pharmaceutical industry?”

Dr. Bertagnolli said most of the funding supported research, although she did receive a payment directly from one unnamed firm for sitting on its board of directors while she was employed by Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“I completely agree with the need to have one goal, one constituency that I am serving, and that is the health of the American people,” she said.

Concerns About Revolving Door

Mr. Braun later raised the reported agreement between Dr. Bertagnolli and Ms. Warren, which hasn’t yet been made public.

Activists and some officials have raised concerns about top U.S. officials coming to the job with ties to major pharmaceutical companies, and top officials often joining the firms after leaving government.

Dr. Doran Fink, for instance, a top U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientist who worked on COVID-19 vaccine emergency authorizations, left the agency in late 2022 and joined Moderna, which makes one of the vaccines.

Alex Azar, the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—which includes the Food and Drug Administration and the NIH—joined the Trump administration from Eli Lilly.

Dr. Bertagnolli, who has directed the NIH’s National Cancer Institute since 2022, appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for a confirmation hearing.

The NIH currently has an acting director, Dr. Lawrence Tabak.

Dr. Francis Collins, the last Senate-confirmed NIH director, exited the agency in late 2021. Dr. Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of his top deputies, have denied that the NIH-funded gain-of-function research at the Chinese laboratory situated in the city where the first COVID-19 cases appeared, despite evidence to the contrary. They also downplayed natural immunity while hyping the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

Dr. Bertagnolli said in her opening statement that, if confirmed, she would work “every day to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness for all Americans.” She also said she would work to “restore faith and trust in our nation’s top scientists.”

Dr. Bertagnolli declined to commit not to fund research that gives cross-sex hormones to minors in response to questions from Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), also a doctor, even after two participants in an NIH-funded study on the use of cross-sex hormones took their own lives.

“Any research that we do, senator, with regard to human subjects has to be done in a way that does no harm and produces the maximum benefit to the people that are participating in the research—and that will be the principle with which I approach any research, especially for this vulnerable population,” she said.

Dr. Marshall had described giving minors cross-sex hormones as something historians would look back on with horror.

Ethics and Oversight

Dr. Bertagnolli also said she would maintain the current policy on fetal tissue research from the Biden administration, which lifted a ban on NIH researchers using the tissue and removed an ethical review for outside researchers. Dr. Bertagnolli said the tissue should only be used as a last resort.

She also said she would comply with congressional oversight, after Dr. Tabak has repeatedly stonewalled investigators in the U.S. House of Representatives seeking answers about Dr. David Morens, a top deputy of Dr. Fauci, admitting he used his personal email in a bid to shield discussions from Freedom of Information Act requests. Dr. Morens hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

Due to the stonewalling, House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) on Oct. 13 announced he'd issued a subpoena for records that could provide answers.

“NIH continues to refuse to comply with our investigation and suspiciously defends this potential federal records violation. Today’s subpoena is another step in our pursuit to hold NIH and Dr. Morens accountable,” Dr. Wenstrup said in a statement.

Dr. Bertagnolli told senators, “I can reassure you that I take Congress’ responsibility for oversight for the NIH—and, if confirmed, my responsibility as director of the NIH, to be compliant with policies regarding that oversight—extremely seriously.”