When the Timeline Completes Itself: The Cavazzoni Case and White House Drug Pricing

How a verified timeline of regulatory-to-industry transitions explains Pfizer’s White House drug pricing deal.

By Cherokee Schill | Horizon Accord

On September 30, 2025, President Trump announced a drug pricing deal with Pfizer in the Oval Office. Present for the announcement was Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s CEO, alongside administration officials who described “all-night negotiations” to finalize the agreement.

What the New York Times article didn’t mention: Seven months earlier, Pfizer appointed Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni as Chief Medical Officer—a role overseeing “regulatory, pharmacovigilance, safety, epidemiology and medical research functions.” Before that appointment, Cavazzoni spent four years directing the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, where she regulated the very companies she would later serve.

The timeline we documented becomes suddenly relevant.

The Intelligence Value Realized

Between June 23, 2024 and January 18, 2025, Cavazzoni simultaneously served as FDA’s top drug regulator and as a board member of the PhRMA Foundation—the pharmaceutical industry’s research coordination body. During this 209-day period, her office established the CDER AI Council to develop frameworks governing pharmaceutical oversight for decades.

On February 23, 2025—just 36 days after leaving FDA—Pfizer announced her as Chief Medical Officer.

By September 30, 2025, Pfizer negotiated directly with the White House on Medicaid drug pricing while employing a CMO who, until seven months prior, ran the federal agency responsible for drug regulation and pricing policy.

What Insider Knowledge Is Worth

Consider what Cavazzoni knows that benefits Pfizer’s White House negotiations:

• Internal FDA strategy on drug pricing mechanisms
• Medicaid rebate negotiation dynamics from the regulatory side
• Which pricing concessions FDA considers meaningful versus cosmetic
• How federal agencies coordinate on pharmaceutical policy
• The political ‘pressure points’ that influence regulatory decisions

This isn’t speculation. Her job at FDA gave her this knowledge. Her job at Pfizer allows her to deploy it.

The article mentions Pfizer received assurances of a “three-year grace period” on pharmaceutical tariffs because the company is building U.S. factories. Who at Pfizer understands federal regulatory grace periods better than someone who granted them for four years?

The Suppression Confirms the Pattern

Within hours of publishing our investigation documenting Cavazzoni’s timeline—using 50 verified sources and public records—Medium banned our account for “AI content.” No factual disputes. No corrections requested. Just removal.

The research documented simultaneous service to FDA and pharmaceutical industry, followed by rapid transition to corporate leadership during active White House negotiations. These are verifiable facts from official announcements and government records.

When documented evidence gets suppressed rather than refuted, the suppression becomes evidence of what the documentation revealed.

The Coordination Is No Longer Silent

The pattern we identified isn’t theoretical:

1. Place experienced personnel in regulatory positions
2. Design favorable frameworks while maintaining industry board service
3. Transition to corporate roles at strategic moments
4. Deploy regulatory insider knowledge during policy negotiations
5. Suppress documentation of the coordination

This isn’t a conspiracy theory requiring anonymous sources or speculation. It’s a timeline using official press releases, government announcements, and corporate filings.

Cavazzoni joined PhRMA Foundation board in June 2024. She established FDA’s AI Council shortly after. She departed FDA two days before Trump’s inauguration. She joined Pfizer as CMO five weeks later. Pfizer negotiated with the White House seven months after that.

The only speculation required is believing this coordination is accidental.

What Professional Investigation Would Reveal

With FOIA capabilities and insider access, professional newsrooms could determine:

• Whether Cavazzoni participated in Pfizer’s White House negotiation strategy
• What role her FDA knowledge played in securing favorable terms
• How her understanding of Medicaid pricing informed Pfizer’s position
• Whether the PhRMA Foundation board coordinated this strategic placement
• What other former FDA officials are similarly positioned at pharmaceutical companies during active policy negotiations

The documentation exists. The timeline is verified. The conflicts are documented.

The question isn’t whether regulatory capture occurred—it’s whether anyone with resources to investigate comprehensively will do so before the infrastructure becomes irreversible.

Conclusion

Seven months ago, we documented a regulatory official serving simultaneously as FDA director and pharmaceutical industry board member while designing AI frameworks. Today, that official’s company negotiated drug pricing directly with the White House.

The timeline completed itself exactly as the evidence suggested it would.

The suppression of that documentation confirms what the documentation revealed: systematic coordination between pharmaceutical companies and regulatory officials who move between sectors at strategically opportune moments.

This is regulatory capture in real time, documented through public records, and suppressed when the documentation became inconveniently relevant.

The pattern is visible. The coordination is documented. The question is whether enough people can see it before the transformation becomes irreversible.

Research methodology and sources available here.

---

Website | Horizon Accord
Ethical AI advocacy | Follow us on https://cherokeeschill.com for more.
Book | My Ex Was a CAPTCHA: And Other Tales of Emotional Overload
Ethical AI coding | Fork us on Github https://github.com/Ocherokee/ethical-ai-framework
Connect With Us | linkedin.com/in/cherokee-schill
Cherokee Schill | Horizon Accord Founder | Creator of Memory Bridge. Memory through Relational Resonance and Images | RAAK: Relational AI Access Key