Following the resignation of Scott Gottlieb, Norman E. “Ned” Sharpless, MD, has been named the acting commissioner of the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) by Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, effective April 2019.
“Dr. Sharpless’ deep scientific background and expertise will make him a strong leader for FDA,” said Azar in a statement. “There will be no let-up in the agency’s focus, from ongoing efforts on drug approvals and combating the opioid crisis to modernizing food safety and addressing the rapid rise in youth use of e-cigarettes.”
Karen Howard, CEO of the Organic & Natural Health Association also offered her thoughts saying “… Overall, he appears to be a brilliant conventional doctor specializing in cancer with his research directives and major initiatives. He also has an interesting (though not near as unique as it used to be for a physician) entrepreneurial background. … Short of that, I predict business as usual at the FDA.”
Sharpless has been the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since Oct. 17, 2017. Before accepting the position at NCI, he was the director of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“It will be an honor to advance the FDA’s critical public health mission and build on its progress toward the priorities laid out by President Trump, Secretary Azar, and Commissioner Gottlieb alongside the leadership and staff of the agency,” Sharpless said in a statement.
