Activities
President Obama Nominates New FDA Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner
Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., slated to head the Food and Drug Administration, is drawing unprecedented praise from constituents and her nomination has brought hope for better things to come at the agency. Also boosting the spirits of FDA stakeholders is the President's nomination of Joshua Sharfstein, M.D., to be Principal Deputy Commissioner.
Dr. Hamburg, 53, who was assistant health secretary under President Bill Clinton, helped to lay the groundwork for the government's bioterrorism and flu pandemic preparations. As New York City's health commissioner for most of the 1990's-the youngest person to hold that position—she created a program that cut the high rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
When he announced the nomination on March 14, President Obama said food safety will be a top FDA priority. Currently the agency only has resources to conduct inspections at a small fraction of the 150,000 food processing plants and warehouses in the country. "That is a hazard to public health that is unacceptable and it will change under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Hamburg," he said.
Sharfstein, a Baltimore pediatrician, challenged the FDA on the safety of OTC cold medicines for young children and he served as health policy aide to Senator Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) who plays a leading role in overseeing the drug industry.
The naming of two prominent public health professionals is "a clear signal that this administration has placed a priority on bolstering FDA's food safety role" commented Pamela Bailey, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association."
Hamburg and Sharfstein are both outsiders to the agency and will face a major challenge in trying to turn it around. Hamburg's appointment as FDA Commissioner requires Senate confirmation. Sharfstein's appointment does not.
Sharfstein has been named the acting Commissioner until Hamburg's appointment is confirmed.