Cancer Institute’s Sharpless Tapped as Acting Chief of FDA (1)

Ned Sharpless, the director of the National Cancer Institute, will be named temporary chief of the Food and Drug Administration, taking for now the post being vacated by Scott Gottlieb.

Sharpless will serve as acting head of the agency when Gottlieb leaves later this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at an appearance on Capitol Hill March 12.

The appointment of Sharpless could allay concerns by health advocates that Gottlieb’s departure would signal a letup in the FDA’s crackdown on flavored e-cigarettes and teen smoking. Sharpless has supported Gottlieb’s efforts to stem what the commissioner has called ...