Charles L. Hooper

1 month ago | independent.org | David Henderson |Charles L. Hooper

In an ironic turn of events, a Stanford University professor whom Francis Collins, the former head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), attacked, has been nominated to head that very agency. While the personal aspects of Jay Bhattacharya’s altercation with Collins matter, it’s more important to understand why Bhattacharya was right and Collins was wrong.

Feb 4, 2024 | wsj.com | David Henderson |Charles L. Hooper

For Americans, paying for the discovery and development of new drugs rests on our shoulders. If we pay, we get new lifesaving medicines. If we don’t, we don’t. Almost all new drugs are developed for the U.S. market, no matter where the company’s headquarters are. Why? America is a large, rich country with an advanced medical system. America’s gross domestic product per capita is 65% higher than Britain’s, 57% higher than Germany’s and 87% higher than France’s.

May 2, 2023 | wsj.com | Charles L. Hooper

At an April Senate subcommittee hearing, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf blamed the pharmaceutical industry for a lack of nonaddictive nonopioid pain medications. In his telling, the FDA is waiting with open arms for any new analgesics that industry may develop: “We need to do everything we can do to push industry and make this happen.”He’s partially right: The government should commit itself to supporting private innovation.