Trump picks cancer specialist to run FDA

Hahn to face challenging issues including vaping, opioids

WASHINGTON, Nov 2, (AP): President Donald Trump on Friday picked a cancer specialist and hospital executive to lead the Food and Drug Administration.

If confirmed, Dr Stephen Hahn of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston would inherit a raft of highprofile public health issues, including leading the government’s response to the problem of underage vaping and the prescription opioid epidemic.

The White House announced plans for the nomination in a statement, citing Hahn’s role as the cancer center’s top medical executive. The Senate will vote on whether to confirm the 59-year-old to the post.

Headquartered in the Maryland suburbs outside Washington, the FDA regulates a variety of consumer goods, including prescription drugs, medical devices, tobacco and vaping products, cosmetics and most food.

As head of the FDA, Hahn would be expected to take up the long list of projects kicked off by Dr Scott Gottlieb, who stepped down as FDA commissioner after less than two years on the job. Those plans include an effort to make cigarettes less addictive by cutting their nicotine levels and reevaluating the risks and benefits of opioid painkillers. The agency is also grappling with a series of safety recalls involving tainted pharmaceuticals manufactured overseas.

Hahn “will face challenging issues as commissioner – including vaping, opioids and drug importations – but his record of leadership at MD Anderson indicates he will be up to the challenge,” said Wayne Pines, a former FDA official who now consults for FDA-regulated companies.

Still, Hahn could face a tight window to address such a daunting array of issues, coming to the role – his first

in government – during the third year of the Trump presidency. FDA observers said his agenda would largely consist of responding to the challenges already before the agency.

He is certain to undergo intense questioning in the Senate on his approach to regulating electronic cigarettes as the federal government attempts to reverse what health officials call an epidemic of underage vaping among teenagers.

In September, President Trump announced a proposal to sweep most flavored e-cigarettes off the market. But anti-vaping advocates are furious that a concrete plan has yet to appear. Meanwhile, vaping companies and retailers argue that the prohibition on fruit,

candy, menthol and other flavors could wipe out their industry.

The FDA is also working to find the source of a mysterious outbreak of sometimes-fatal lung injuries tied to vaping.

Dr Ned Sharpless, who previously led the National Cancer Institute, has been serving as acting commissioner since April. The administration said Sharpless would return to the institute, and Dr Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, would temporarily lead the FDA pending Hahn’s confirmation.

Unlike many past FDA nominees, Hahn has not worked in Washington or served as a public health official.

“If you don’t know how the game is played – it doesn’t matter how talented you are – you’re at a disadvantage,” said Peter Pitts, a former FDA official who now runs the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, a nonprofit that receives funding from drugmakers.

But Hahn’s professional colleagues say the internal politics of a large medical center provide ample preparation for the FDA role.

“I think he’s got that awareness of how to work with various difficult stakeholders and people with different policy agendas,” said Karen Bird of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers, who has worked with Hahn in his role at MD Anderson.