NIH critic to quit Congress

Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-Penn.), known for his hardball investigations into the healthcare industry, corporate scandals, and conflicts of interest at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced yesterday (July 22) that he will not seek re-election and instead will become president of a major biotechnology trade association when his term expires next January. Greenwood has agreed to head the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a Washington-based trade group that represents more than 1000 companies around the world. As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Greenwood had spearheaded probes into financial consulting arrangements that many of these companies have with scientists and officials at the NIH, the Food and Drug Administration, and other agencies. "It's not easy to walk away from being a congressman, and I probably wouldn't do it for any other organization," Greenwood told The Scientist yesterday. "I believe from the work I've done in Congress on stem cell research, somatic cell nuclear transfer, and other issues, that biotechnology is going to transform the world dramatically. This is an opportunity for me to ensure that this promise is not squelched by the wrong kind of public policy, and that public policy enhances the efforts to get these miracle drugs and products to people." Greenwood plans to serve out the remaining portion of his term, but has resigned chairmanship of the subcommittee. While continuing to serve on the subcommittee, he said he would recuse himself from hearings that might have potential conflicts of interest, including one investigating pharmaceutical companies for allegedly withholding adverse information on antidepressants and children. "And I probably need to stay out of the NIH stuff," Greenwood said. "But there are lots of other things we're doing." Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) will be acting subcommittee chairman while vice chairman Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) will gavel future hearings. Rumors of Greenwood's departure for BIO had been circulating for several days. The antidepressant hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday, July 20, but was cancelled 2 days earlier. No reason was given at the time, prompting speculation that Greenwood had either been offered the BIO position as a quid pro quo for squelching the long-awaited hearing or, more likely, had decided not to preside over a gathering where executives of major drug companies—most of them members of BIO—and top FDA officials would be publicly and uncomfortably grilled. But Energy and Commerce Committee spokesman Larry Neal called the allegations "nonsense." "The subcommittee's chief counsel was called to Los Alamos to look into the security issues there on Sunday, and he would not have been back in time for the hearing," Neal told The Scientist. "Since he is the most knowledgeable staff member on the issue, it was decided to postpone the hearing." The antidepressant hearing has been rescheduled for the second week in September, he said. Vera Hassner Sharav, president of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, a patients' rights organization, called Greenwood's departure for BIO "disgraceful" and "corrupt." Canceling the antidepressant hearing "confirms that the buyout of a US congressman has been carried out as planned," she told The Scientist. "We're not talking about someone who was known to be in the pockets of industry," Sharav continued. "We're talking about somebody who was the guy that everyone was counting on. He just finished bringing NIH to its knees for its conflicts of interest." But a senior Democratic congressional staff member said there is nothing unusual or improper about Greenwood taking a job in an industry in which he had been involved as a legislator. "That's what people do in this town all the time. It's not exactly uncommon for someone to leave the Hill or leave the administration for lobbying and trade groups," he said. Greenwood will be taking over from Carl B. Feldbaum, who has headed BIO since its establishment in 1993. BIO has grown from 16 employees and a $2.1 million budget to almost a 100-member staff with a $40 million budget. Recognizing possible negative ethical perceptions, Greenwood said he had told BIO officials "that the only kind of advocacy that works is the truth, the truth, and the truth. And I could not bring myself to do anything other than that," he said yesterday. "I want to help the promise of biotechnology by educating the public at large and people in Congress as to what the promise is, and help dispel some of the myths" about biotechnology, Greenwood said.

NIH critic to quit Congress

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