Who Will Replace FDA's Janet Woodcock? Can Anyone?

Who might replace Janet Woodcock when she retires as head of the FDA’s all-important Center for Drug Evaluation and Research? Some may wonder, in fact, if anyone can replace Woodcock, a forceful and high-energy bureaucrat with a 20-year institutional memory and controversial profile that sometimes riles consumer advocates while placating pharmaceutical executives. Although Woodcock, a formidable personality known for maintaining  a frantic pace and offering blunt statements, is not scheduled to retire for a year or more, speculation is already mounting about a successor. But as Reuters notes, no one has been groomed for the job, the pay does not approach private sector levels and tapping someone from industry is certain to draw criticism from watchdogs. “No one is seeing that luminous, next-generation leadership,” says Robert Meyer, a former FDA medical reviewer who later worked for Merck (MRK) and now heads the Center for Translational and Regulatory Sciences at the University of Virginia. “The thought of bringing someone in and expecting them to take over from Janet Woodcock any time soon is the ultimate absurdity,” the former FDA official tells Reuters. [NEWS FLASH: Woodcock has issued a memo saying her retirement is not imminent. "I want to assure you that I am not planning to retire as erroneously reported in the media today. In fact, quite the opposite is true. I am becoming more deeply involved in many of the Center’s issues, including the proposed reorgan...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs