As has been the case with other high-profile cabinet picks, Donald Trumpappears to be considering at least one figure who is highlyunconventional and distrusted by the establishment for the head ofthe FDA.

NBC reports Trump is pondering Jim O’Neill, who isa longtime colleague of PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel, a majorTrump backer. O’Neill, like Thiel, describes himself as alibertarian and has said the FDA should have far less ability torestrict new drugs from entering the market before their safety andeffectiveness has been judged.

Even the pharmaceutical industry would likely be skeptical of avehemently anti-regulation FDA chief, says Michael Gaba, who workson health care policy for Holland & Knight, in an interviewwith NBC.

Drug companies that have spent billions to win approval fortheir drugs will not appreciate the barrier being lowered forcompetitors. They want FDA approval to remain an importantdistinction that assures customers of their product’s value.

"They want the FDA's Good Housekeeping seal of approval," saysGaba.

The other person reportedly being considered for the post, ScottGottlieb, is similarly a venture capitalist but has far moreconventional credentials. He is a doctor and is a resident fellowat the American Enterprise Institute, the influential conservativethink-tank, where he frequently writes about health care.

What both potential picks have in common with each other andother members of the transition is their ties to finance. O’Neillhas been a big player, along with Thiel, in the world of SiliconValley investment, while Gottlieb is a managing director of T.R.Winston & Co, an investment bank in Los Angeles. He also sitson the boards of numerous companies.

The FDA has come under scrutiny in the past year over whatcritics describe as its role in facilitating the opioid addictioncrisis. A small bipartisan group of senators opposed theconfirmation of the current FDA chief, Dr. Robert Califf, in protest of what they sawas a laissez faire attitude from the FDA towards powerful prescription painkillers that have led millionsof Americans to crippling addiction, including to elicit drugs,such as heroin.