Obama Administration Reportedly Considering Hamburg, Sharfstein as Candidates for Top Positions

Margaret Hamburg is reportedly President Obama's leading candidate for FDA commissioner and Joshua Sharfstein is thought to be his choice for deputy commissioner, the Wall Street Journal reports. FDA is one of the few major federal agencies still without a nomination for its top positions. Drug companies and patient advocates have been lobbying the White House for candidates favorable to their concerns.

According to sources close to the situation, the White House aims to position the FDA commissioner as a leader who will drive the agency "back to its core mission of public health." The Journal reports that the choices of Hamburg and Sharfstein, both public health experts, could avoid a congressional debate over whether the candidates are proponents or opponents for the drug industry.

Hamburg is a former health commissioner in New York City and served as assistant secretary of HHS during the Clinton administration. She now works at the think tank Nuclear Threat Initiative and is a board member at medical-equipment wholesaler Henry Schein. Sharfstein is the current Baltimore health commissioner (Mundy, Wall Street Journal, 3/11).