Merck, Abbott, Pfizer, Lilly, Teva et al. would prefer to see the FDA vanish, just as BP would like to see the EPA disappear. And their rationales would be identical: who needs wasteful federal oversight, just more big government, we'll police ourselves, we promise.
And in today's political/social climate, this kind of nonsense has more and more clout. Barton's the right man for the job.