How much will Dunn’s influence persist as he departs FDA?

With Billy Dunn stepping down as director of FDA’s Office of Neuroscience, the agency is losing a key voice for regulatory flexibility in reviews of products for serious neurological diseases. A successor has not been announced, and it’s unclear if the remaining neurology officials will take similarly strong stances in upcoming reviews.

Longtime FDA official Teresa Buracchio, director of FDA’s Division of Neurology 1, will step in as acting director of the Office of Neuroscience. She’ll become deputy director on a permanent basis...