Henney Confirmed by Senate as FDA Commissioner

WASHINGTON—Jane Henney, M.D., a cancer specialist from NM, in October won Senate confirmation to become the first woman to head FDA. Henney served as deputy commissioner of operations at FDA from 1992 to 1994 under former Commissioner David Kessler, at which time she helped draft FDA’s popular user-fee plan, which allows companies to pay for faster drug reviews.

Henney leaves her post as VP for Health Sciences at the University of New Mexico’s , where she oversaw the institution’s hospitals, medical school and a variety of pediatric cancer and mental health facilities, to take the FDA position.

“My priority as commissioner will be to implement the FDA Modernization Act and to strengthen the agency’s scientific base to ensure the best science guides the critical decisions that need to be made,” Henney said.

“Dr. Henney, under questioning by Senator Tom Harkin [D-IA] at her nomination hearings, pledged to work with Congress to ensure that FDA implements the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 in a way that is consistent with congressional intent,” says Susan Haeger, president and CEO of Citizens for Health. “FDA, especially under former Commissioner Kessler, did not always indicate a similar willingness to cooperate.”