With Joshua Sharfstein on his way out the FDA's door, agency chief Margaret Hamburg has tapped an interim deputy commissioner. John Taylor, who's been serving as counselor to the commissioner, will step into the role beginning Monday, and he'll have the job for 60 days, FDA spokeswoman Meghan Scott told MassDevice.
Taylor has been Hamburg's counselor for 14 months, In Vivo reports, and he has 20 years of experience wrestling with FDA-related issues. In fact, In Vivo thinks Taylor should have Sharfstein's job permanently. He served at the FDA during both Bush administrations and worked with former GOP Congressman Jim Greenwood--who now is at BIO--so he has experience dealing with Republican leaders, a crucial skill for the new Congress.
But Taylor also worked at FDA during the Clinton years, and as In Vivo tells it, he "embodies the qualities of diversity and activism espoused by the Democratic administration[.]" And given his experience in industry (at Abbott Laboratories) and at the industry association BIO, he has a good rep in the pharma business, too, the blog says.
- see the MassDevice news
- check out the piece from In Vivo