Two FDA drug review Directors to leave the agency, with no permanent replacements in place

pharmafile | April 27, 2018 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing |  FDA, pharma 

The FDA has revealed that two of its prominent Directors are set to retire from the agency, leaving three of its 19 drug review divisions without permanent figures to lead them.

The two executives have been named as Dr Curtis Rosebraugh and Dr Donna Griebel, both of whom will be retiring effective 28 April. Dr Griebel was responsible for directing the agency’s reviews into gastrointestinal disease drugs as well as some treatments for metabolic disease, while Dr Rosebraugh was responsible for overseeing the operations of three review divisions.

According to an FDA spokesperson, the two executives will be succeeded on a temporary basis by their deputies in their respective departments.

Both worked within the remit of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research’s Office of New Drugs, which has also been without a permanent leader since the retirement of Dr John Jenkins in January last year, and has been run in an interim capacity by CDER Director Dr Janet Woodcock.

The FDA has seen something of an exodus of executive staff in recent times, with the departures of Dr Jean-Marc Guettier, who oversaw reviews for metabolic and endocrine diseases and is now with Sanofi, and Dr Badrul Chowdhury, who held responsibility for allergy, asthma and other rheumatological diseases, left in April to join AstraZeneca as its Senior Vice President.

Matt Fellows