Ousted FDA Official Peter Marks Enters the Revolving Door of Corruption
From FDA Regulator to Eli Lilly Executive — the Cycle of Corruption Expands
Six months after his removal from the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Peter Marks has officially joined Eli Lilly — the same company now scooping up former FDA officials like trading cards. Marks will serve as Senior VP for Molecule Discovery and Head of Infectious Diseases, working alongside Rachael Anatol, another recently ousted regulator.
This is the same Peter Marks who was forced to resign after refusing to grant Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. access to the VAERS database — citing fears his team would “write over it or erase the whole database.” As soon as he was ousted, he went on national TV and issued a veiled threat to Americans about engineered pathogens:
Meanwhile, his former FDA counterpart Patrizia Cavazzoni quietly landed at Pfizer as Chief Medical Officer earlier this year.
Nine of the last ten FDA commissioners have gone on to work for major pharmaceutical companies shortly after leaving public office. Within the Bio-Pharmaceutical Complex, officials routinely rotate between government agencies, global NGOs, and Big Pharma — advancing personal careers while deepening institutional entanglements across the syndicate:
Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, former Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the NIH — Joined Moderna’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA Commissioner — Joined Board of Pfizer to promote vaccines on TV during pandemic.
Dr. Stephen Hahn, former FDA Commissioner — Became Chief Medical Officer at Flagship Pioneering, the venture capital firm that launched Moderna.
Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, former UK Deputy Chief Medical Officer and member of the Vaccine Task Force — Appointed as Senior Medical Consultant at Moderna.
Dr. Jeremy Farrar, former Director of the Wellcome Trust — Appointed as Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dr. Søren Brostrøm, Director General of the Danish Health Authority — Elected to the Executive Board of the World Health Organization.
Dr. Moncef Slaoui, former Chief Scientist of Operation Warp Speed — Previously served as an executive at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and as a Board member at Moderna.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, former CDC Director — Became President of Merck Vaccines, later serving as CEO of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Luciana Borio, former FDA Acting Chief Scientist and member of the Biden COVID-19 Advisory Board — Became a Partner at ARCH Venture Partners, a firm heavily invested in biotech.
Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, former Director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) — Appointed as Chief Medical Officer at Pfizer.
Dr. Peter Marks, former Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) — Appointed Senior Vice President for Molecule Discovery and Head of Infectious Diseases at Eli Lilly.
This revolving-door network erases the line between public health stewardship and corporate profiteering — a deeply embedded conflict of interest that undermines both trust and safety. It’s time to seal shut the Revolving Door of Corruption.
Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation
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Like George Carlin reminded all of us, "It's a BIG club, and you ain't in it."
Maybe some of them ought to be in prison for what they've done to us. They are perching in the big Pharma companies waiting for a chance to return to government.