Forced to Act: Omnitrope and the Battle for an FDA Commissioner

Generic biologics was not a priority for Andrew von Eschenbach when he accepted the job as acting commissioner of FDA. But two events -- a federal court ruling requiring a decision on Sandoz' Omnitrope NDA and the European Union approval of the follow-on biologic -- mean FDA may be pressed to take action on a regulatory pathway. The Omnitrope ruling makes it more important than ever that FDA have a fully confirmed leader in place, but it will also make it harder to get one.