President Joe Biden is reportedly close to picking Robert Califf to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the November deadline. Pictured: Califf testifies during his nomination hearing before a Senate committee, November 2015
President Joe Biden is reportedly close to choosing a new head to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - and it's a familiar name.
Robert Califf, who was FDA Commissioner between February 2016 and January 2017, is the top pick once again to lead the federal health agency, three sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Washington Post.
The role is currently held by Acting Commissioner Dr Janet Woodcock, who assumed the title in January 2021.
A full-time commissioner must be named soon, because Woodcock cannot hold the title past November.
Califf would come back to the FDA as it has several high-profile decisions to make.
The new commissioner will be responsible for seeing out the end of the COVID-19 pandemic - especially as relates to boosters and vaccines in young children - and handling recent controversies related to the agency such as the approval of a new Alzheimer's drug despite scant evidence.
Robert Califf led the FDA for less than one year during the end of the Obama administration and was confirmed on February 22, 2016 in an 89-4 vote.
Califf, a cardiologist with ties to the pharmaceutical industry, previously led the FDA for less than a year from February 2016 to January 2017, when Biden was Vice President. Pictured: Biden delivers an update on the COVID-19 response and vaccination program, October 14
The new commissioner will be responsible for seeing out the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and handling recent controversies related to the agency. Pictured: Signage is seen outside of the FDA headquarters in White Oak, Maryland
The Post reports that his nomination was met with opposition from some Senators such as Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who criticized his ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Califf graduated from Duke University School of Medicine in 1978 and began an internal medicine residency in North Carolina, only to switch to cardiology.
He was a professor of cardiology at Duke from 1980 to 2015 and founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, which is the self-proclaimed 'largest academic research organization' in the world.
Califf had close ties to pharmaceutical companies, convincing them to fund large trials at Duke, and was a paid consultant for firms such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co and Eli Lilly.
In January 2015, he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the FDA's
