FDA Goes "Public" With Commissioner's Office Appointments

A slew of appointees to FDA's Office of the Commissioner all share backgrounds in public health work through government jobs or advocacy groups, such as Public Citizen. The mark of Commissioner Margaret Hamburg and Principal Deputy Commissioner Josh Sharfstein, both former health commissioners of large cities, is readily apparent.

The OC roster additions, announced in an internal agency memo Oct. 16, puts a few new players in the foods area. Jessica Leighton, a senior advisor on nutrition and food safety, comes from Hamburg's old stomping ground, the New York City Department of Health, where Leighton was deputy commissioner of environmental health.

At FDA, Leighton will report to the deputy commissioner for foods, a role that appears as yet unfilled. In August, "The Tan Sheet" reported here on the reorganization of the commissioner's office, and on Hamburg's assertion that a nationwide search is underway to find a deputy commissioner for foods.

Jeffrey Farrar, former director of the California Department of Public Health's Food and Drug Branch, is FDA's new associate commissioner for food protection. Though the memo does not clearly define Farrar's responsibilities, his post sounds similar to the one vacated recently by David Acheson. "The Tan Sheet" spoke to Acheson for an exclusive interview following his departure as associate commissioner for foods.

The former deputy director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, Peter Lurie joins FDA's Office of Policy, "where he will develop strategies to facilitate medical product availability to meet critical public health needs," the memo says. Attorney Peter Pitts of public relations firm Porter Novelli posts on his blog DrugWonks that Lurie is a "smart" but "highly political" figure who will likely bring an extremely cautious attitude toward product safety.

Also making his indirect mark among the new posts is Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. As "The Tan Sheet" noted here in this week's issue, Ann Witt becomes counselor to the deputy commissioner for policy for the second time, after serving six years as counsel to the current chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Additionally, former E&C Chief Public Health Advisor Jeanne Ireland joins FDA as assistant commissioner for legislation.

"The Tan Sheet" will be taking a close look at these appointments, what they will bring to FDA and what it means for regulated industries.

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- Dan Schiff (d.schiff@elsevier.com)