After five months of delay, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted for Dr. Robert Califf, President Barack Obama's nominee, to run the Food and Drug Administration.
FDA is the country's regulatory agency that approves everything from cosmetics, food and drugs to cigarettes and dietary supplements. It faced tremendous pressure over recent issues on e-cigarettes, prescription painkillers and speeding up approval of drugs and medical devices.
The vote was 89-4 for Califf, a well-known cardiologist and medical researcher at Duke University and formerly FDA's No. 2 official.
"Dr. Califf is the right person with the right experience to build on the FDA's unsurpassed record of protecting public health while encouraging innovation and the introduction of new life-saving therapies to the market," U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said.
"I look forward to working with Dr. Califf to ensure the FDA can carry out every aspect of its critical mission; from ensuring the safety and effectiveness of the medical products we use, to protecting the nation's food supply and implementing its oversight of tobacco products, to furthering our efforts to combat opioid abuse," she added.
The 64-year-old doctor has been tasked to continue many of the administration's projects with just a year left in Obama's presidency. This includes many unfinished programs like tobacco regulations, speeding up on the agency's response to the growing epidemic of prescription pain killers, food safety and labeling reforms.
FDA's Response To The Prescription Painkiller Epidemic
The United States has faced a tremendous surge of prescription pain killer abuse and deaths. The new FDA chief is expected to follow through on his promise to re-evaluate the regulation of prescription painkillers.
"If addiction to opioids and misuse of opioids is the enemy, then we underestimated the tenacity of the enemy," said Califf.
"We've got to adjust," he added. In response, the agency would add warning labels on prescription painkillers.
Aside from added response to prescription painkiller regulation, he said that they are planning to improve surveillance systems and modernize tools to monitor the safety of medical devices, and regulate e-cigarettes.
Opioid And Heroin Overdose
The frustration from the Senate follows the increasing deaths related to heroin and other painkiller overdose in the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that heroin use has increased across the U.S. As heroin use increases, so have deaths due to overdose. From 2002 to 2013, the number of heroin-related overdose deaths nearly quadrupled.
Photo: Michael J. Ermarth, FDA | Flickr
