In his weekly address, President Barack Obama announced the appointments of Dr. Margaret Hamburg as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as the Principal Deputy Commissioner, as well as the creation of a new Food Safety Working Group. This Food Safety Working Group will be chaired by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, and it will coordinate with other agencies and senior officials to advise the President on improving coordination throughout the government, examining and upgrading food safety laws, and enforcing laws that will keep the American people safe.
President Obama announced his appointments of the following individuals today:
Margaret "Peggy" Hamburg, M.D. Dr. Hamburg is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in public health and medicine, and an authority on global health, public health systems, infectious disease, bioterrorism, and emergency preparedness. She served as the Nuclear Threat Initiative's (NTI) founding Vice President for the Biological Program. Before joining NTI, she was the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to this, she served for six years as the Commissioner of Health for the City of New York, and as the Assistant Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.
Joshua "Josh" Sharfstein, M.D. Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein is Commissioner of Health for the City of Baltimore. He also serves as Chair of the Board of four affiliated non-profit agencies. He has been recognized as a national leader for his efforts to protect children from unsafe jewelry and over-the-counter medication, and ensuring Americans with disabilities have access to prescription drugs. He is a member of the Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice of the Institute of Medicine.
Dr. Sharfstein is a former member of Congressman Waxman’s staff, his appointment puts former Waxman staff members in key positions throughout the Department of Health and Human Services.
Several drugs’ approvals have been held-up waiting for this appointment and confirmation. Let’s see how long it will take until approvals begin again.
It is interesting to note that the President must have made this decision with little input of the new HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
This move may be sending a signal that the FDA will be the quite agency, with more emphasis being on Center for Medicare Services. Neither Hamburg or Sharfstein have research backgrounds so not sure how much "change" will actually happen.
Forbes: Margaret Hamburg, M.D.
Time Magazine: Obama’s FDA Pick Hamburg
The Wall Street Journal: Who is Josh Sharfstein?