The New York Times (12/17, A24, Harris) reports that FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach formally announced on Tuesday that his resignation would be effective on Inauguration Day, January 20. He is "part of a parade of expected departures at the nation's crucial public health agencies. Leaders of these agencies have sometimes straddled administrations, but the Obama administration is expected to make a clean sweep in part because of repeated assertions that the Bush administration allowed politics to play an unusually forceful role in science policy, and because each of the current leaders has fierce critics on Capitol Hill and in the public health community." According to the Times, "the Obama administration's choice for each slot will signal how it plans to deal with issues like stem cell policy and the safety of imported drugs and foods; how it might take advantage of advances in genomic research; its approach to pandemic flu planning; and whether huge investments in bioterrorism prevention will continue." The Times mentions the departure of NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni and notes that Inauguration Day will also mean the resignation of CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. Although NCI Director Dr. John Niederhuber is expected to resign, he may remain at the institute, according to the Times.
In an article appearing in at least 16 media outlets, the AP (12/16, Alonso-Zaldivar) runs a mostly favorable report on Eschebach's resignation, identifying him as someone who "made progress in stabilizing a troubled agency." The AP points out that Commissioner von Eschenbach "has overseen a major increase in funding that Congress mandated for the FDA's drug safety office. He also directed the agency's first steps to strengthen its role as an international regulator, opening three offices in China only last month."
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