Advocates call for permanent FDA commissioner, line up behind Woodcock, Sharfstein

Patient groups and medical product developers are calling on President Joe Biden to quickly nominate a permanent FDA commissioner, and many are taking sides in a competition that they believe has come down to two candidates: Janet Woodcock, whom Biden named as acting commissioner, and Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Nominating and ensuring speedy Senate confirmation of permanent agency leaders, including at FDA, is the first element in a blueprint for “100 days of innovation” released by BIO. The trade association has not publicly backed a specific candidate. ...