FDA’s Woodcock to Retire After Career Marked by Controversy (3)

US Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner Janet Woodcock will retire next year after nearly four decades at the regulator that were marked by controversy over support for unproven medications for rare, serious conditions.

Woodcock confirmed the news in an email.

Woodcock, who joined the FDA in 1986, received accolades from colleagues upon news of her retirement. Several crucial FDA decisions during her tenure brought her into the limelight and attracted criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups.

Numerous targeted cancer drugs were approved under her watch. These transformed care of the disease from a death sentence to a chronic ...