Crawford resigns FDA's top post

WASHINGTON - 9/24/2005 - Lester M. Crawford, DVM, PhD, resigned as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Crawford was considered the highest ranking veterinarian serving in public office. Andrew von Eschenbach, director of the National Cancer Institute, was named FDA interim director.

His resignation came just two months after the U.S. Senate finally approved his confirmation, which was plagued with setbacks and delays. The latest move ends his three-year tenure at the agency that included high profile decisions including the withdrawal of the popular painkiller Vioxx from the market. The latest controversy included Crawford's decision to postpone non-prescription sales of morning-after contraception despite its safety blessing from FDA scientists.

Crawford is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine and is considered an expert in food safety. From 1997-2002, he was director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy at Georgetown University and at Virginia Tech.