EDITORIAL: TURMOIL AT THE DRUG AGENCY
September 30, 2005 03:37

"The surprise resignation of Lester Crawford as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration was announced,...just as Hurricane Rita threatened the shoreline in Texas, a time calculated to minimize attention. Given that Dr. Crawford...had been promoted to the top job only two months ago and had given no hint of wanting to quit, his sudden departure bore all the signs of a forced resignation. His stated reason, that at age 67 it was time to step aside, sounds preposterous. An administration spokeswoman called it a personnel issue. One official cited Dr. Crawford's failure to disclose all financial information before confirmation, a charge his wife, Catherine, denies. Whatever the real reason, Dr. Crawford's departure offers an opportunity for improvement at the embattled agency. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's initial moves are not promising....With Dr. Crawford now out of the way, it should be possible to reinvigorate the agency. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's stopgap solution - to appoint Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, currently director of the National Cancer Institute, as the acting commissioner of food and drugs while leaving him at the cancer institute as well - can only weaken both agencies...." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/27/opinion/27tue3.html

Lester M. Crawford, the commissioner of food and drugs, resigned abruptly, causing further upheaval at an agency that has been in turmoil for more than a year. Dr. Crawford, who was confirmed on July 18, 2005 after serving as acting commissioner for more than a year, did not say why he was stepping down. Senior officials at the Food and Drug Administration said they were stunned to learn of the resignation in an email message from Dr. Crawford, who also sent a letter to President Bush stating that he was resigning "effective immediately." A government official said the resignation was related to the fact that Dr. Crawford had not fully disclosed information about his finances to the Senate before his confirmation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing Dr. Crawford's privacy. Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, who voted against Dr. Crawford's nomination, said: "The Food and Drug Administration is facing nothing short of a crisis in leadership. The controversy surrounding Vioxx and other pharmaceuticals has exposed weak oversight, conflict of interest and poor management at the F.D.A." Ira Loss, senior health analyst at Washington Analysis, which studies federal issues for investors, said he had been told by someone in the White House that Dr. Crawford had been asked to resign for a reason not yet known to the public. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/24/politics/24fda.html