According to the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Silver Spring, MD, FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford resigned Friday, September 23rd, just two months after being named full Commissioner in July. He had served as Acting Commissioner for all but 16 months since the Bush administration first appointed him to that role in February 2002.

The Associated Press reported the resignation, effective immediately, noting that it was a surprise. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt accepted Dr. Crawford’s resignation “with sadness,” said department spokeswoman Christina Pearson. “We thank him for his service and wish him well,” she said. Asked if he was forced to resign, Ms. Pearson declined further comment, calling it a personnel issue.

Immediately following the resignation, the White House named Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach Acting FDA Commissioner. The National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA), Santa Ana, CA, says Dr. von Eschenbach will remain chief of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) while running FDA. Industry expert Loren Israelsen, president, LDI Group, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT, pointed out that Dr. von Eschenbach is a cancer survivor and was formerly chief neurological surgeon/chief academic officer at the University of Texas Anderson Cancer Center. Mr. Israelsen regards the new appointment as bad news for the supplement industry. “We had a good working relationship with Dr. Crawford. We felt he well understood the importance of publishing the GMP regulations and finding sensible middle ground on other issues,” he said. “We know nothing about the Acting Commissioner or his views toward supplements.”