Dr Robert Califf

President Joe Biden has announced he has nominated Dr. Robert Califf to return as U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner.

Califf served as Deputy Commissioner of the FDA’s Office of Medical Products and Tobacco from January 2015 through February 2016. He was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to succeed Margaret Hamburg as FDA Commissioner. He would remain in this role for 11 months when he would step down following the completion of President Barack Obama’s term.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Califf would succeed Dr. Janet Woodcock who has served as Acting Commissioner since President Biden took office.

President Biden made the following statement today:

I first want to thank Dr. Janet Woodcock for her leadership over the last year. She has done an incredible job leading the agency during what has been a busy and challenging time, and both she and the FDA career staff have worked hard and followed the science to ensure the American public can trust the decisions being made by the FDA.

Dr. Robert Califf is one of the most experienced clinical trialists in the country, and has the experience and expertise to lead the Food and Drug Administration during a critical time in our nation’s fight to put an end to the coronavirus pandemic. As the FDA considers many consequential decisions around vaccine approvals and more, it is mission critical that we have a steady, independent hand to guide the FDA. I am confident Dr. Califf will ensure that the FDA continues its science and data driven decision-making. Dr. Califf had strong bipartisan support in the Senate in 2016, and I urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Dr. Califf so he can continue the important work being done at this critical moment.

Photo Credit: FDA