FDA names former pharmaceutical company executive to oversee US drug program

Source: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Monday named a longtime pharmaceutical executive to run the agency’s drug program, the latest in a string of leadership changes at the agency.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced that Dr. George Tidmarsh, a cancer and pediatric specialist, will direct the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, which regulates the safety and effectiveness of all U.S. drugs.

His appointment comes a month after the center’s acting director, Dr. Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, announced her retirement.

As the agency’s top drug regulator, Tidmarsh will be charged with following through on a number of commitments made by Makary and his boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including reviewing the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone. The FDA is also scrutinizing certain uses of other long-established drugs, including antidepressants and hormone-replacement drugs for menopause.

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