May 31, 2017 – New FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s initial tasks largely will be administrative, according to Wayne Pines, healthcare president at APCO Worldwide and former FDA associate commissioner for public affairs, who spoke at a May 16 session of the Coalition for Healthcare Communication Rising Leaders Conference for Healthcare Policy, held in Washington, D.C.

Gottlieb “knows as well as anybody that the first thing a commissioner really, really does on a day to day basis is not to approve new drugs, is not to change major policies, it’s to do the administrative things,” Pines said, according to coverage of the event in the Pink Sheet.

Pines noted that although Gottlieb has a leg up on the position due to his prior FDA experience, he has his hands full right now trying to fill many vacant FDA positions and contending with potential agency budget cuts and the re-authorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, and will not have a lot of time to spend on other issues. “I don’t sense a whole lot of dramatic change,” Pines said.

To view the full Pink Sheet article, go to: https://pharmaintelligence.informa.com/resources/product-content/major-changes-unlikely