Acting Normal: US FDA's Unusual Interim Period Drags On

The messaging around the US FDA commissioner transition has emphasized continuity and business-as-usual. But this is still all pretty weird.

FDA entrance sign 2016

During one of his first public appearances after taking over as acting commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, Ned Sharpless jokingly acknowledged a predecessor in the audience by claiming to be just the second person to pull of the "von Eschenbach maneuver”: moving to head FDA after serving as the Director of the National Cancer Institute.

Sharpless made the quip in the context of describing his efforts to meet with his predecessors at FDA to get...

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