The US Food and Drug Administration’s newly appointed head of the drug analysis division, Richard Pazdur, is ready to exit the well being company weeks after taking the job, STAT News reported on Tuesday, citing sources acquainted with the matter.
Pazdur, the company’s veteran oncology chief, took over the function on November 11, changing George Tidmarsh after he resigned amid critical considerations about his private conduct.
The newest high-profile departure comes as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes stark adjustments on the company. Longtime FDA vaccine chief Peter Marks was ousted in April and changed by Vinay Prasad, an ally of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.
Days after taking on the brand new function, Pazdur had questioned a brand new fast-approval path created by Makary, warning it may pose a danger to public well being and be unlawful, in accordance to a Washington Post report.
Pazdur knowledgeable leaders on the FDA’s drug centre of his intention to go away the company at a gathering on Tuesday, STAT reported, including he may nonetheless retract the papers, citing sources.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark. The STAT story mentioned the FDA had confirmed the transfer.
“As I read it, he’s still leaving the door cracked, but if he goes it will be a major loss for the FDA and the public,” former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf mentioned concerning the transfer.
“With so much attrition already, we’re left with a team with very little experience making major decisions,” Califf added.
Pazdur joined the FDA in 1999 and was named director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in 2005. He has been credited with rushing the evaluation course of for dozens of most cancers medication.
By Christy Santhosh and Julie Steenhuysen
Learn extra:
Supplements Are Booming. So Is Scepticism.
Between class-action lawsuits, security fears and buyer dissatisfaction, the vitamin, dietary supplements and minerals trade is going through extra scrutiny than ever. Some sellers see the second as a chance.