Benzinga | Nov 12, 2021 01:20PM EST

President Biden Nominates Robert Califf As New FDA Commissioner: Report

* Robert Califf was nominated today to lead the FDA for a second time.

* The White House reportedly ruled out Janet Woodcock after she faced opposition from some members of Congress over her handling of opioids while at the agency.

* Related Link: White House Dismisses Janet Woodcock As Permanent FDA Commissioner Candidate.

* Califf was briefly the agency's commissioner under the Obama administration beginning in 2016. He also served as deputy commissioner of the FDA's medical products and tobacco office.

* He has also spent the last two years at Google's life sciences-focused sister outfit, Verily, as its clinical policy and strategy head.

* The FDA has recently been criticized for approving Biogen Inc's (NASDAQ:BIIB) Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm.

* After vetting multiple names, President Joe Biden's final choice is one both the industry and agency insiders have hailed as the perfect one.

* "Rob Califf is a good choice," said Aaron S. Kesselheim, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who has faulted the FDA for approving drugs on what he considers flimsy evidence. "Califf certainly spent the vast majority of his early career working on clinical trials ... and understands the value of rigorous data."

* Photo by CVCTforum via Wikimedia