FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced that Dr. George Tidmarsh, a cancer and pediatric specialist, will direct the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, which regulates the safety and effectiveness of all U.S. drugs.
Tidmarsh founded and led several pharmaceutical companies, including Horizon Pharmaceuticals, maker of an anti-inflammatory medication for arthritis. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Stanford University.
His appointment comes a month after the center’s acting director, Dr. Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, announced her retirement.
As the agency’s top drug regulator, Tidmarsh will be charged with following through on a number of commitments made by Makary and his boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including reviewing the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone. The FDA is also scrutinizing certain uses of other long-established drugs, including antidepressants and hormone-replacement drugs for menopause.
