STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about FDA scrambling for workers, Pfizer CEO pay and more

And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda is, so far, rather modest. We plan to promenade with the official mascots, catch up on our reading and look in on the Pharmalot ancestor. We also hope to hold yet another listening party, where the rotation will likely include this, this, this, this and this. And what about you? As always, we will point out this is a fine time to enjoy the great outdoors, be it a walk in the woods or a stroll down city streets. You could also lose yourself in a good book. Or those of you with nerves of steel may decide this is a good time to review your finances. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon…

Just hours after thousands of U.S. Food and Drug Administration employees were shown the door, Barclay Butler, the agency’s new chief operating officer, asked top FDA officials to identify employees to keep working for the next two months, according to The Washington Post. It appears, according to the email, that the agency needed laid-off employees to help transition as it was shedding workers. “If you experience challenges with employees not wanting to work, we encourage you to select another employee that can support you in the transition efforts,” Melanie Keller, an FDA official, wrote in a follow-up email to senior leaders on Wednesday. The request came as senior leaders across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were put on administrative leave or offered reassignment, while thousands of other employees were laid off earlier this week.

Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended Pfizer investors reject a proposal on executive compensation at its upcoming annual meeting, citing concerns about certain changes made to long-term awards to its chief executive officer and others, Reuters reports. The modifications, including repeated changes to Pfizer’s cash flow targets, and a lack of clarity about certain pipeline goals are concerning and undermine a “pay-for-performance philosophy,” ISS said. Annual incentives for executives are tied to achieving three financial goals, and payouts can be 30 percentage points higher or lower based on pipeline and ESG-related goals achieved, ISS said in its report. “For the seventh consecutive year, the target goal for the cash flow metric was set lower than actual results from the prior year,” the firm wrote. The proxy adviser added Pfizer used a “negative discretion” to reduce payouts slightly from their maximum level of 200% and did not disclose details about pipeline goals that would justify a payout.

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