Today, Dr. Ned Sharpless was named acting commissioner of the FDA. Sharpless will assume the role after current commissioner Scott Gottlieb steps down. ATR’s Paul Blair issued the following statement:
“As the head of the National Cancer Institute, Ned Sharpless knows firsthand the potential benefit of transitioning millions of adult smokers away from cigarettes with proven-effective and less harmful e-cigarettes. However long he’s in charge, I’m hopeful he’ll have less of an interest in scaring suburban moms and more of an interest in reducing the cancer and disease associated with cigarette use by preserving the ability of adults to access a wide range of vapor products. He can begin by fulfilling the perhaps forgotten promise of Scott Gottlieb to issue clear guidance on how to bring new reduced risk products to market.”