Coalition asks for agency leader with industry experience
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The Department of Health and Human Services secretary-designate should not disqualify FDA commissioner candidates "due to relationships with industry during the course of his/her career," a group of health organizations called the "FDA Commissioner Coalition" in media reports says in a letter to former Sen. Tom Daschle. Experience within "an FDA-regulated industry should be viewed as a positive qualification," as should solid scientific credentials, the ability to build consensus and a commitment to advance evidence-based science in the area of drug development, says the coalition, which includes groups with industry ties. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical stakeholders voiced concern over the Obama administration leaning toward an FDA head hostile to industry (1"The Tan Sheet" Nov. 10, 2008, p. 3). Groups signing the letter include the Alliance for Aging Research, the American Cancer Society and WomenHeart