Despite the recent departure of Scott Gottlieb from FDA, the dietary supplement initiatives he set in motion are expected to continue under his successor. But it remains to be seen whether any substantive changes to supplement regulations or policies will be adopted under the current interim FDA commissioner.
Gottlieb, a physician who served as commissioner of FDA for two years and left the agency in early April, was widely regarded as a competent leader who spearheaded myriad initiatives and worked collaboratively.
National media reported the 46-year-old Gottlieb wanted to spend more time with his family after commuting weekly to Washington from his home in Connecticut. Gottlieb is currently listed as a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank, where he focuses on pharmaceutical policy, the cost of prescription drugs, FDA and other issues.
Under Gottlieb’s tenure in recent months, the agency announced plans to strengthen its regulation of dietary supplements and examine a potential legal pathway for the use of cannabidiol (CBD) in conventional food and dietary supplements. He also recently revealed the agency’s enforcement strategy related to CBD, which is widely sold in dietary supplements, cosmetics and other products.
“For supplements, Dr. Gottlieb’s tenure represents an era of FDA-industry collaboration that has never been observed before,” said Andrew Shao, interim senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs with the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), in an email. “Under Dr. Gottlieb’s leadership, the agency recognized for the first time the importance of dietary supplements for public health and the great impact the industry has had.”
Outside the dietary supplement industry, the physician and former venture capitalist built a reputation for leading many initiatives focused on tackling high drug prices, strengthening food safety, preventing the use of e-cigarettes by minors and other public health issues.
“Commissioner Gottlieb’s resignation is a loss for the consumer products industry because he has shown a willingness to give industry guidance in areas that you often don’t see from agencies,” Raqiyyah Pippins, a lawyer in Washington with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, who focuses on FDA regulatory issues, said in an email.
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