Michael Richard Lewis Wooldridge (born 7 November 1956) is an Australian doctor, company director, and former politician.
[1] The son of a real estate agent, he grew up in the suburb of Surrey Hills and attended Scotch College, Melbourne.
[8] During Woolridge's term as Health Minister, he was criticised for having close links with multinational drug company, Pfizer[9] that impacted the independence of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).
[10] In 2002, Wooldridge's contract with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners was terminated due to allegations from the Australian Medical Association and the Federal Opposition that his involvement in the allocation of the $5,000,000 as well with his recent retirement as Health Minister represented a conflict of interest;[11] in 2003 the parties settled and Wooldridge received a $382,500 payout.
[12] In 2006, Wooldridge was appointed 'Lead Independent Director' of the ASX listed Australian Pharmaceuticals Industry Limited.
[13] In September 2009, Wooldridge was invited to join a panel hosted by CSL Limited "a major manufacturer [of flu vaccine] in a US$2 billion influenza industry"[14] hosted by the company to dispel myths about swine flu vaccination.
[15] Wooldridge has served on the Boards of Resonance Health Ltd, Dia-b Tech Limited (resigned in 2009, company since de-listed) and a Director of CogState Ltd.