FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb Announces Resignation

Gottlieb will step down after two years at the helm of the US Food and Drug Administration to spend more time with his family.

Written byJef Akst

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Update (March 12): National Cancer Institute Director Ned Sharpless will serve as the acting commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration when Gottlieb steps down next month, the Trump administration announced today.

Effective in about a month, Scott Gottlieb will leave his position as commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, The Washington Post reports. His nomination by President Donald Trump in March 2017 was met with concerns over his industry ties, but he soon won over most of his critics as he took on issues such as prescription drug pricing and opioid addiction.

“The public health of our country is better off for the work Scott and the entire FDA team have done over the last two years,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says in a statement, according to the Post.

Gottlieb’s leaving the agency was his own decision—he wants to spend more time with ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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