FDA Commissioner Hamburg confirms she is resigning

After a day of rumor and speculation, late yesterday US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg confirmed that she would be resigning from the post. After nearly six years as head of the agency, 59-year old Dr Hamburg will step down at the end of March.

“As you can imagine, this decision was not easy,” said Dr Hamburg, adding: “My tenure leading this agency has been the most rewarding of my career, and that is due in no small part to all of you - the dedicated and hard-working people that make up the heart of this agency. While there is still work ahead (and there always will be), I know that I am leaving the agency well-positioned to fulfill its responsibilities to the American public with great success.”

After outlining the many achievements of the FDA under her leadership, Dr Hamburg said: “I am confident that the leadership team that we have in place will enable FDA to capitalize on, and improve upon, the significant advances we’ve made over the last few years.”