Obama administration has chosen a new leader to head the Food and Drug administration of the United States, according to media reports. She is Margaret Hamburg, 53, the New York commissioner of health in the 190s and later an official from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, where she specializes in bioterrorism and planning a response to a potential flu epidemic. Hamburg's deputy will be Joshua Sharfstein, the health commissioner Baltimore City, who himself was often cited as a contender for the top job of the FDA, according to reports.
The name of Hamburg had not topped the unofficial list for FDA chief was outstanding for several months, in addition to Sharfstein, other candidates bandied about Steven Nissen cardiologist included the Cleveland clinic, a longtime critic of the FDA and its links with industry, and Robert Califf, a Duke cardiologist and clinical trialist.
The choice of commissioner was difficult for the new administration. FDA has been heavily criticized for years for not acting decisively deal with threats to public health, peanuts contaminated with risky drugs, it has achieved the market. In addition, the pharmaceutical industry provides tens of millions of dollars to the organization as a use-fee significant portion of FDA funding. Obama has made no secret of his interest in reforming the FDA, told Matt Lauer on NBC last month that "we will do a complete review of FDA operations." Hamburg, however, may be less divisive and less alienating the industry some of the other candidates, such as Nissen
the agency faces many challenges. Its budget, about $ 2.2 billion, is often derided as inadequate and was accused of conflicts of interest to neglect to address the drug problem, it approved security; its division of the unit was under fire for failing to consider medical devices before they are approved;. and its resources are too limited to adequately inspect imported food and pharmaceutical FDA has also been criticized for politicizing scientific decisions, such as those around the plane of the emergency contraception B.
budget FDA needs to change, said Frank Torti, Acting Commissioner of the agency since 20 January. (Torti took the relay Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach FDA, who headed the agency in the last years of the Bush administration.) In an interview with Science last month, noted that Torti FDA does not fund almost all of the science it should. He described wandering up a poster discuss salmonella by researchers from the FDA, "and I say:" I presume the agency that funded food, 'and they say,' Oh, we would never have money to finance this he was the Department of Homeland Security who felt sorry for us and gave us money. "(Ironically, the organization of false news, the Onion has published an article on the FDA and salmonella yesterday.)
How lever Hamburg and Sharfstein will change the culture of the FDA and the budget will depend on the whims of Congress and the generosity and commitment of the administration . Obama for not-return to mention the support of those within the agency Hamburg is from a public health illustrious family; in addition to its own impressive resume, his parents, Beatrix and David Hamburg, published pioneering work on stress and violence. (David Hamburg also served as chairman of the board of the American Association for the advancement of Science, which publishes Science .)
Photo Courtesy of US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of health
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