Trump nominates former Lilly president to HHS chief position

WASHINGTON — A former pharmaceutical industry executive who also served in the Dept. of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush has been nominated to lead the department. President Donald Trump on Monday named Alex Azar as his pick for secretary of health and human services.

Azar was president of Eli Lilly from 2012 until January 2017, having joined the company in 2007 as senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications. In 2009, he was promoted to the role of vice president of managed healthcare services and Puerto Rico.

Prior to joining Lilly, Azar was deputy secretary of health and human services from 2005 to 2007, following four years as the department’s general counsel. Since January, he has worked as chairman and founder of biopharmaceutical and health insurance strategic counseling and consulting company Seraphim Strategies. He also serves as a member of the HMS board of directors.

The announcement was made as Trump finishes up his 12-day trip to Asia, with the president tweeting that Azar “will be a star for better healthcare and lower drug prices!”

If confirmed by the Senate, Azar will succeed Tom Price at the helm of the Health and Human Services Department, following Price’s resignation at the end of September. Since Price left the department over controversy sparked by his use of private jets since his confirmation in May, it has been led by acting secretary Don Wright.

Azar is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale Law School.