Crawford Nominated as FDA Chief

President Bush has nominated Lester M. Crawford, DVM, PhD, to take over as FDA commissioner. Crawford has held the title of acting FDA commissioner since March 2004, when the former head of the agency, Mark B. McClellan, MD, PhD, left to head up the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS; Baltimore). Crawford was named deputy commissioner in February 2002 and also served as acting commissioner prior to McClellan's appointment in November 2002.

Michael Leavitt, who was confirmed in January as the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS; Washington, DC), described Crawford as an outstanding choice who has “dedicated his career to advancing the nation's public health and will lead the way as we enter a new era of individualized medicine and rapidly developing science.”

Medical technology industry associations were generally pleased with Crawford's nomination.

Pamela G. Bailey, president of AdvaMed (Washington, DC) said, “We look forward to continuing to work with Dr. Crawford, who understands the unique characteristics of the medical technology industry.” Citing Crawford's role in key negotiations that led to the landmark Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act of 2002, Bailey added, “His experience will be invaluable as Congress and FDA craft legislation this year that will add predictability and stability to the medical device user-fee program and allow for the program's continuation beyond the current fiscal year.”