FDA Commissioner Appointment Effort "Interminably Slow" - HHS' Thompson
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Appointment of a new FDA commissioner is unlikely before fall due to the lengthy procedural issues involved in such a nomination, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson intimated during an appearance at the National Press Club April 17.
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Appointment of a new FDA commissioner is unlikely before fall due to the lengthy procedural issues involved in such a nomination, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson intimated during an appearance at the National Press Club April 17. "We are looking at a lot of applicants [for FDA and the National Institutes of Health], but the process in Washington is interminably slow," Thompson said. "We are looking for researchers and we want to get some input from some of the research organizations, so that is going to take a little bit longer," he stated. "Even after we designate them, it will be several months before they are approved." HHS' top priorities are the naming of an assistant deputy, an assistant secretary of health and "some of the other assistant secretaries," he noted. Thompson explained the hold-up in announcing nominees both for NIH director and FDA commissioner is the result of a political appointment system that is "too long, too detailed." Specifically, he cited "a heck of a lot of paperwork" as well as daunting background checks and rigorous confirmation hearings. The HHS secretary did not link the process to RU-486, saying the department's interest in the abortifacient drug (Danco's Mifeprex, mifepristone) does not differ from its interest in the safety of all drug products. "RU-486 is not being actively reviewed now any more than any other drug is for safety," he said. "What we're trying to do is make sure that all drugs are safe, whether they are for women or men. It's a responsibility of the FDA, which is a part of the department." Thompson spoke at the Press Club on the same day that the New York Times carried an op-ed by former FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy William Schultz maintaining the Bush Administration's interest in RU-486 is getting in the way of the process of nominating a new commissioner. "It is time for the Administration to bite the bullet, announce that the nation will abide by the decision already made on RU-486, and get on with the business of nominating a commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration," Schultz declared. Schultz left FDA in 1999 to join the Justice Department's civil division. He is now a partner at D.C. law firm Zuckerman, Spaeder, Goldstein, Taylor & Kolker. |