National Cancer Institute Director, Dr. Ned Sharpless will be serving as acting FDA Commissioner, revealed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Tuesday.
FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb will leave the agency next month.
Azar told the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Hearing that the FDA has been currently searching for a permanent replacement. Gottlieb announced his resignation last week.
Dr. Sharpless said in a statement, “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.”
Gottlieb introduced several new policies at the FDA during his nearly two-year tenure. He introduced a policy to lower nicotine in combustible cigarettes to non-addictive levels. He also introduced a plan to ban menthol cigarettes. Furthermore, he focused on increasing prescription drug competition, introducing generic drugs, to lower prices.
His resignation took Washington and the health care community by surprise. They wondered what would happen to some of his initiatives, such as clamping down on teen vaping.
Azar said 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.”
Gottlieb sent an email to FDA staff, stating, “Dr. Sharpless is a valued colleague to the FDA and is deeply committed to public health.”
He also said, “Dr. Sharpless shares our mission and I know he will be embraced warmly by the Agency’s professional staff.”
Dr. Sharpless was appointed as a director of the National Cancer Institute on October 17, 2017. Before that, he led the University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. The United States Department of Health and Human Services said Deputy Director Dr. Douglas Lowy would serve as acting director of the National Cancer Institute.
