For an FDA filled with difficulties, the leadership of the agency’s women’s health office has been a particular embarrassment. First, Susan Wood resigned because of the FDA’s ridiculous handling of the review process for Plan B emergency contraception. Then, the administration announced Wood’s replacement at the women’s health office would be Norris Alderson — who is not only a man, but also a specialist in veterinary medicine.
Things became almost comical when the administration pretended that Alderson hadn’t been tapped for the job.
Three days after the Alderson announcement, the FDA main press office sent out a very different announcement. It said that 20-year FDA veteran Theresa A. Toigo would be the new acting director of the women’s health office, and that she would be a champion for women’s health inside and outside the agency. Alderson — and the statement announcing his appointment — was never mentioned. […]
The seeming mystery thickened when several women’s groups said that not only did they receive e-mails announcing Alderson’s appointment, but also that he was also listed on a Health and Human Services directory last week as the acting director of the office. In addition, people who have spoken with women’s health office staff said that Alderson was introduced to the staff last week as the new acting director, and that he even had some one-on-one discussions with staff members about future plans.
Yesterday, the FDA seemed anxious to put the matter to rest, naming Kathleen Uhl, a supervisor for the agency’s drug division and a practicing physician at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, to take over the women’s health office.
Is Uhl a good choice? I have no idea, but at least she isn’t a veterinarian.