On Feb. 5, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, announced she will be stepping down at the end of March, a position she has held since 2009. Stephen Ostroff, who currently serves as the FDA’s chief scientist, will be acting commissioner upon Hamburg’s departure.

During her time at the FDA, Hamburg ushered in important developments to the agency, such as faster review of drugs and biologics for patients with serious illnesses, and improvements in food safety regulations and promotions of nutrition. In her resignation statement, she remarked that the agency’s “collective efforts have improved the health, safety and quality of life of the American people... At the heart of all of these accomplishments is a strong commitment to science as the foundation of our regulatory decision-making and of our integrity as an agency.”

“We at the ACC thank Hamburg for her dedication to public health,” said ACC President Patrick T. O’Gara, MD, FACC. “During her time at the FDA, she partnered with professional societies on a variety of important initiatives, including the STS/ACC TVT Registry. The ACC hosted her at our annual Legislative Conference this past year. Hamburg championed evidence based decision-making, nurtured a climate of innovation at the Agency and increased collaboration with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to aid beneficiaries’ access to new therapies. Hamburg’s accomplishments are changing the landscape of medicine and helping clinicians improve outcomes for their patients. We wish her well and look forward to working with her successor and the dedicated professionals at the FDA on issues that affect the care of our patients.” 

Keywords: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S., United States Food and Drug Administration

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