Fugazi WSJ 6/24
President Clinton nominated Jane
Henney, a cancer specialist and former Food and Drug
Administration deputy commissioner, to head the FDA.
Dr. Henney, 51 years old, is vice president of the
University of New Mexico. She served as FDA deputy
commissioner for operations from 1992 to 1994 under
David Kessler, who resigned over a year ago.
"Dr. Henney will encourage and
nurture collaborative relationships
with consumers and industry
alike," said Health and Human
Services Secretary Donna Shalala,
who oversees the FDA. Dr.
Henney, who must be approved by
the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee and
the full Senate, also has solid backing from Sen. Edward
Kennedy of Massachusetts, the labor panel's ranking
Democrat; he employed her husband, Dr. Robert
Graham, on the committee during the late 1970s. A
spokesman for Labor Committee Chairman Sen. James
Jeffords, (R., Vt.), declined to comment.
More than a dozen health and industry groups have also
supported Dr. Henney's nomination, including the
American Medical Association.
During the confirmation process, questions will likely
arise about Dr. Henney's ties to the controversial Dr.
Kessler, who was known as an aggressive regulator, as
well as her role in the FDA's decision to take silicone
breast implants off the market, and her willingness to
carry out changes mandated by last year's FDA
Modernization Act. Tobacco regulation also will likely
be a hot topic.
"I look forward to the confirmation process and to the
opportunity to give my full energy and commitment to
being the next FDA commissioner," Dr. Henney said in
a statement.
A graduate of Indiana University Medical School, Dr.
Henney has worked in the Carter, Reagan and Bush
administrations and has held high-level posts at the
University of Kansas School of Medicine and the
National Cancer Institute.
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