With no successor in sight, Young leaves mixed legacy

Drug Store News, Dec 11, 1989 by Ken Rankin

With no successor in sight, Young leaves mixed legacy

Frank Young's abrupt departure as Food and Drug commissioner could leave the agency leaderless for months. That's because new legislation approved earlier this year requires that future FDA chiefs be confirmed by Congress. With Congress out of session now, no action can be taken until January at the earliest. Indeed, it may be March before a replacement is installed at FDA.

Meanwhile, there will be an "interim" commissioner: James S. Benson, who has served as the agency's acting deputy commissioner for the past 18 months. Benson (and other current FDA employees) are not really considered serious candidates for the job which, in recent years, has become more of a political post than a scientific one.

The Bush Administration is actively searching for a successor to Young. Reportedly, former Nixon FDA chief Charles Edwards (the originator of the "MAC" Medicaid Rx reimbursement rules and now a pharmaceutical industry exec) has already turned down the job. Other names being mentioned in Washington include Peter Barton Hutt, a former FDA general counsel.