President Tentatively Settles On a Choice to Head F.D.A.
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The White House has tentatively chosen a cancer specialist who is vice president of the University of New Mexico to be head of the Food and Drug Administration, a position that has been vacant more than 14 months, Clinton Administration officials said today. The prospective nominee, Dr. Jane E. Henney, was Deputy Commissioner of Food and Drugs under Dr. David A. Kessler from 1992 to 1994. Dr. Kessler headed the agency for six stormy years, until he left in February 1997 to become dean of the Yale School of Medicine. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is checking Dr. Henney’s background, and Administration officials said President Clinton hoped to announce her selection by the end of the month. Dr. Henney, 51, has extensive experience in government and academia. As vice president for health sciences at the University of New Mexico, she supervises a medical school, a college of pharmacy and several teaching hospitals. She worked at the National Cancer Institute from 1976 to 1985, serving as deputy director for five years, and she was vice chancellor of the University of Kansas before working at the F.D.A. She is also president of the United States Pharmacopeia, a private nonprofit organization that sets legally enforceable standards for the purity and quality of medicines. Makers of drugs and medical devices and many Republicans in Congress said they wanted to be sure that Dr. Henney, or whoever succeeds Dr. Kessler, took a less confrontational approach than he had. ”We want a more cooperative approach, in which the F.D.A. works with industry to see that patients gain timely access to new treatments and technologies,” said Stephen J. Northrup, executive director of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association. One of the biggest tasks for the next commissioner is to carry out a new law, signed by Mr. Clinton in November, that is intended to speed the approval of prescription drugs and improve the regulation of medical devices and food products. The next commissioner will also have a big role in one of the most important public health initiatives ever undertaken by the Government, as it steps up efforts to curb smoking and regulate tobacco. Bills moving through Congress would enhance the F.D.A.’s authority over the sale and advertising of tobacco products. Mr. Clinton has often moved slowly in filling vacancies, and the Senate has often been slow to approve his nominees, so it is not clear whether Dr. Henney can win Senate confirmation before Congress adjourns this fall. Anyone chosen to run the F.D.A. is sure to be scrutinized closely. It is virtually impossible for any candidate to please both the drug industry and consumer advocates like Ralph Nader. More : query.nytimes.com |