There's been a lot to watch lately.
When acting FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach announced, in late May, that he would resign from his other job as head of the National Cancer Institute, you would have thought that he dialed down the pressure on himself by removing the appearance of a conflict of interest. No longer would he serve as head of a government group that researches new cancer drugs and at the same time as acting head of FDA, which reviews and approves new cancer drugs.
But he's still in a political holding pattern. That's because he's still just acting FDA commissioner, unable to be confirmed by the Senate. Some Senators refuse to pass him through until FDA makes a decision on whether the controversial "Plan B" contraceptive (the so-called "morning after" pill) can be sold over-the-counter, an issue on which FDA's position -- formed before von Eschenbach came on the scene -- has shifted, and is now itself in a delay-for-further-research mode.
Here’s hoping the controversy ends soon and FDA once again has a confirmed, permanent commissioner. The agency is too important to both U.S. business and consumers to not be firing on all pistons.
