In today’s episode of Special Episode of Regulatory Voices, I speak with Dr Robert Califf, former two-time Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

This conversation sits right at the centre of many of the questions being discussed across the regulatory community today.

How does FDA function as an institution?

What happens when experienced reviewers and leaders leave?

How serious is the loss of institutional memory?

Can public trust in healthcare and science be rebuilt? And how do regulatory systems adapt when technology, misinformation, and public expectations are all moving faster than ever?

Dr Califf speaks very openly about the public health mission inside FDA, the importance of career expertise, the pressure facing the agency, and why experienced reviewers carry judgement that cannot simply be replaced by guidance documents, training programmes, or AI.

We also discuss the modern information environment, misinformation, the decline in trust, and why public health is increasingly competing in a space where evidence is not always what travels fastest.

A huge thank you to Dr Califf for joining me and for sharing such a thoughtful, direct, and important perspective.

The full episode is available now.

Brought to you by Codon Partners, Life Science Staffing.