FDA nominee: "no political pressure"

Speaking at the Association of Health Care Journalists annual meeting, Andrew von Eschenbach, who has been nominated by President George W Bush to head the US Food and Drug Administration, said that he has not been "restrained or constrained" when it came to making scientific decisions. His comment came in response to a question on the perception that the Bush administration has used political pressure in asking doctors to place a higher value on ideology than on scientific evidence, according to a report carried by Reuters.

Dr von Eschenbach, who has led the FDA temporarily since last September - while also serving as director of the National Cancer Institute - suggested that a discussion needs to be ongoing about the implications of these scientific discoveries, and that society as a whole needs to be in on the deliberations. Commenting on his work at both agencies, he noted that "we are moving toward an effort to bring the full fruits of this biomedical research enterprise to patients as rapidly...as possible, ensuring the balance between what is effective, and what is safe and what is appropriate."

While Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Patty Murray have already said they plan to block the nomination until the agency finally makes a decision on Plan B, Dr Von Eschenbach declined to discuss this issue or any points relating to the agency, other than the comment on the absence of political pressure. First, he said, he needed to share his vision of the FDA with Congress.