Biden Eyes Robert Califf as FDA Head

U.S. President Joe Biden is likely to nominate Food and Drug Administration veteran Robert Califf to lead the agency, reports The Washington Post. A cardiologist who teaches at the Duke University School of Medicine, Califf was the FDA’s deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco before leading it from February 2016 to January 2017.

The FDA has been without a permanent chief since President Biden took office. Its acting commissioner, Janet Woodcock, is nearing the end of the term that acting officials are allowed to serve.

While some praised Califf as a strong and experienced candidate, others criticized his ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

“Rob Califf would be a strong, experienced and effective commissioner,” former FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan was quoted as saying by Politico.

“The country desperately needs an FDA leader who will reverse the decades-long trend in which the agency’s relationship with the pharmaceutical and medical device industries has grown dangerously cozier—resulting in regulatory capture of the agency by industry,” countered Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group. “Califf would not be that leader.”