Ex-FDA chief Henney could return

Put another name on your possible-FDA-chief list: Dr. Jane Henney (photo), a professor at the University of Cincinnati who ran the agency for the last couple years of President Bill Clinton's administration. The Cincinnati Enquirer quotes unnamed sources saying that Obama's transition team contacted Henney about the potential job, and she expressed interest in serving. Henney herself refused to comment.

If Henney were selected, she would become yet another Clintonite tapped for duty in the Obama administration, joining CIA pick Leon Panetta, who was Clinton's chief of staff; attorney general candidate Eric Holder, who was Clinton's deputy AG; chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel, a top Clinton adviser; economic council pick Larry Summers, Clinton's Treasury Secretary; and others.

After she worked at the FDA, Henney served as VP and provost at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center, a job she relinquished last year because of budget strains and a "changing clinical environment" for cutting-edge research, which made the institution's goals markedly different from those she signed onto, she said.

Henney's claim to fame at the FDA--among Republicans at least--is the fact that she ran the agency while the abortion pill RU-486 was approved. Industry groups and lawmakers both praised her work there, however, the Enquirer reports. She helped speed the pace of drug approvals and cut down on red tape, they said.

- read the story for more

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