Crawford resigns as FDA Commissioner

Update- 28Sep05

FDA Chief's Resignation Comes As Surprise

WASHINGTON - Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford is out only two months after the Senate confirmed him to run the agency. President Bush designated Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, the director of the National Cancer Institute, the acting replacement.


Crawford's surprise resignation, submitted Friday and effective immediately, gave no specific reason for his departure. "It is time at the age of 67, to step aside," he wrote in his resignation letter.

Crawford's tenure was marked by increasing criticism of the agency by those who contended it had become more interested in politics than in its mission to protect consumers.

Link to full article


26/09/2005 - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found itself once again without a permanent Commissioner after the current incumbent - Lester Crawford - resigned after 18 months in the post.

Crawford was appointed acting FDA Commissioner March 2004, after having stepped into the job on an interim basis on two prior occasions. He has been acting Commissioner since Mark McClellan departure left to head up the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and after a long, contentious and drawn-out appraisal process was finally granted the permanent position in July.

link from in-pharmatech