FDA appoints George Tidmarsh as top drug regulator
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FILE PHOTO: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary holds up a study from The Lancet during an announcement of the FDA’s intent to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the nation’s food supply during a press
By Sriparna Roy and Sneha S K
(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it has appointed George Tidmarsh, a seasoned biotech executive and longtime Stanford University professor, as the director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Tidmarsh, an adjunct professor of pediatrics and neonatology at Stanford University, will oversee one of the FDA's largest and most important divisions, which regulates over-the-counter and prescription drugs.
He is now the third Stanford-affiliated figure elevated to a top federal health role under the current administration. National Institutes of Health head Jay Bhattacharya was a tenured professor at the medical school, while Surgeon General nominee Casey Means — also a prominent voice in U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Health Again movement — graduated from there.
All three share views on overhauling how the federal government approaches health and science.
"Dr. Tidmarsh is an accomplished physician-scientist and leader whose experience spans the full arc of drug development—from bench to bedside," said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.
With more than 30 years in biotechnology, regulatory science and clinical medicine, Tidmarsh has authored 143 scientific papers and patents as well as played a central role in developing seven FDA-approved drugs.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams said his appointment helps fill a key regulatory gap.
"While recent cutbacks across the healthcare administration still threaten the FDA's ability to approve drugs as smoothly as before, we would expect Tidmarsh to be a pragmatic officer ... and potentially be an advocate for the industry as a longtime drug developer," Abrahams said.
Tidmarsh had previously served as the CEO of Horizon Pharma, where he led all aspects of development of Duexis — a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
He also held senior positions at other biotechs such as SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals and Coulter Pharmaceutical, and retired from Revelation Biosciences' board in May.
Bloomberg News first reported on Tidmarsh's appointment earlier in the day.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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