CDER taps ex-Novartis exec to direct quality office

FDA named Michael Kopcha permanent director of the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ), a super-office at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research that has almost 1,000 employees. He will join FDA in November "pending ethics clearance," CDER Director Janet Woodcock wrote in a memo to center staff.

Kopcha was VP and global research and development franchise head for cough, cold and respiratory products at the Novartis Consumer Health Inc. unit of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN). ...