FDA Reorganization Proposal A ‘Mindless Approach To Centralization,’ Woodcock Says

Plan to reorganize the agency into five offices was designed by someone who does not understand the FDA, former long-time agency official Janet Woodcock says. The proposal would eliminate highly specialized expertise in favor of “a big team of generalists,” former Principal Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein says.

Disorganized cables
The reorganization proposal for the FDA is not a well-organized plan, former officials say. (Shutterstock)
Key Takeaways
  • HHS is proposing to reorganize the FDA to remove unnecessary management layers and offices and streamline it into five shared services offices.
  • However, the proposal was developed by someone who does not understand the agency and all of its responsibilities, former FDA official Janet Woodcock said.
  • The varied products that the agency regulates demand highly specialized expertise, which would be lost under the proposal, former Principal Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein said.

A proposal for reorganizing the US Food and Drug Administration into five offices and consolidating all product review functions is “a mindless approach to centralization and standardization” and would not

The proposal for a reorganized FDA that is being circulated by the Trump administration “is a really, really bad idea,” says Janet Woodcock, former

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