Cures Act Hiring Authority Expansion Could Help Recruitment Woes, US FDA's Sharpless Says

20 Jun 2019

Acting commissioner says greater flexibility in hiring has 'a real potential to solve some of our problems,' although only about 40-50 people have been added to date; recruitment and retention were very much on the minds of the FDA’s leadership at the recent BIO annual meeting, where center directors spoke of the long-term damage caused by the five-week partial government shutdown.

High angle view of magnet attracting traffic on wooden table - Image — The FDA is having trouble attracting the scientific expertise needed to handle emerging technologies. • Source: Shutterstock

The US Food and Drug Administration’s problems with recruiting and retaining employees could be helped by expanding the direct hiring authority provided in the 21st Century Cures Act, acting commissioner Ned Sharpless believes.

“One of the things I’ve learned in the federal government is I can’t lobby Congress, but stakeholders can. As a federal official I can just educate,” Sharpless said during a fireside chat at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s recent annual convention in Philadelphia

Cures Act Hiring Authority Expansion Could Help Recruitment Woes, US FDA's Sharpless Says

More from US FDA

More from Agency Leadership