[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (AP) – Next month, following the departure of its current chief, the head of the Food and Drug Administration will head the National Cancer Institute.
Tuesday's appointment of Dr. Ned Sharpless comes a week after Scott Gottlieb announced his resignation unexpectedly.
Sharpless currently heads the cancer division of the National Institutes of Health, which manages billions of dollars in federal funding and research grants. His name was distributed among government officials likely to succeed Gottlieb on a permanent basis.
Health and Social Services Secretary Alex Azar said the search for a new FDA commissioner was underway.
The highest official of the FDA is appointed by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate, usually after public hearings before health legislators.
Last Tuesday, Mr. Gottlieb announced that he would step in in April, after less than two years as head of the FDA, a large public health agency that regulates, among other things, the food industries, medicines, medical devices and tobacco. He was widely perceived as one of the most effective directors of President Donald Trump, as a key messenger of the federal response to rising drug prices, the opioid epidemic and the under-employment of Electronic cigarettes.
Gottlieb said he wanted to spend more time with his family after going weekly to Washington from his home in Connecticut.
During his tenure, Mr. Gottlieb launched a series of ambitious public health initiatives, including a plan to reduce cigarette dependence by dramatically reducing nicotine levels. But this plan and many others have barely progressed beyond the early stages, raising questions about their timing and prospects for completion. FDA commissioners report to the White House, but generally have a lot of room to choose their priorities.
Sharpless has publicly supported the FDA's efforts to regulate tobacco more closely and combat the vaping of minors. Electronic cigarettes are generally considered less harmful than traditional tobacco products, but they generally contain nicotine, which can harm the brain of teenagers. Some research also suggests that teens who use electronic cigarettes are more likely to try ordinary cigarettes.
Sharpless has led the National Cancer Institute since October 2017. He was previously a professor and administrator at the University of North Carolina, where he also graduated as a physician in 1993.
[ad_2]
Source link