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PMLive – UPDATED: Senate officially confirms Stephen Hahn as FDA commissioner

PMLive – UPDATED: Senate officially confirms Stephen Hahn as FDA commissioner

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 18-5 in favour of advancing Hahn’s nomination to the full Senate last week, after he was put forward for the job by President Donald Trump.

 

Following the final confirmation, Hahn will now go on to head the FDA and become a pivotal figure on a number of key issues the agency is currently facing.

 

This includes the ongoing opioid crisis and litigation, drug contaminations in major products and the outbreak of a lung illness thought to be caused by certain electronic vaping products.

 

Perhaps the hottest of these topics is the prevalence of vaping among adolescents – during his confirmation hearing last month, Hahn was questioned about how he would handle the epidemic, and whether he would potentially ban flavoured vape products.

 

He avoided this line of questioning, instead responding that he could not prejudge the policy and ‘would let science guide his work’.

 

Interim acting FDA commissioner Ned Sharpless returned to his role as the director of the National Cancer Institute, after completing his tenure at the federal agency on 1 November.

 

Initially, a number of organisations endorsed Sharpless to take on the commissioner role permanently, including the Friends of Cancer Research, the Leukemia and Lymphoma society and scores of other groups.

 

He was also backed by previous FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who endorsed Sharpless as “an outstanding physician and scientist who is deeply committed to public health goals” who he hoped would be “permanently nominated into that role”.

 

However, following Health Secretary Alex Azar’s announcement that Hahn would be nominated for the role, a number of institutions voiced their support, including some who had originally favoured Sharpless.

 

This includes the Friends of Cancer research, as well as the National Organization for Rare Disorders and the National Patient Advocate Foundation.

 

Hahn is a renowned radiation oncology expert, and currently serves as chief medical executive of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

 

During his time at MD Anderson, he faced a number of challenges including turning around serious financial losses the centre faced in 2016. As part of the cost-saving efforts, he oversaw the largest layoffs in MD Anderson’s history, but also ensured the cancer centre got back on its feet.

 

http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/updated_senate_officially_confirms_st…