United States
President Joe Biden announce Robert Califf as his nominee for the post of the
head of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) on Friday. Califf is a long-awaited
nominee to run the FDA, a key agency to run amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robert Califf is a
cardiologist at Duke University. He briefly served as the FDA commissioner
during the Obama administration during the second term and Biden seeks to bring
him back. He has also served as the deputy commissioner responsible for
overseeing tobacco and medical products.

Califf, who has
also worked with Google’s parent company Alphabet, will be the first FDA chief
to stage a comeback since 1940. 70-year-old Califf is also the founder of the
Duke Clinical Research Institute, one of the largest academic clinical trial
operations in the world. His role involved designing trials for the world’s
biggest drugmakers.

Califf’s
nomination as FDA chief comes after months of confusion over the head of the
regulatory body which has been at the center of operations during the
coronavirus pandemic.

However, Biden’s
nomination does not seal Robert Califf’s position as FDA chief. The senior
doctor will have to be confirmed by the Senate. “Rob is a relatively safe
choice because he is known in Washington and is widely respected,” said Wayne
Pines, a former FDA associate commissioner. Pines added that Califf will have
broad support from FDA stakeholders.

FDA is the federal
US agency that takes final calls on approval for medicines, vaccines as well as
tests to fight COVID-19 as well as other diseases.

If confirmed,
Robert Califf will replace Dr Janet Woodcock, a long-term director of the FDA
who has served as acting commissioner of the drug agency since January.       

For months she was expected to be tapped for
the permanent post, but her nomination ran into pushback from key Democratic
lawmakers over the handling of opioid prescription painkillers during her
30-plus years at the agency.

(With inputs from Associated Press)