Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it has appointed Richard Pazdur, the agency's veteran oncology chief, as its new director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Pazdur, who leads the FDA's Oncology Center of Excellence, replaces George Tidmarsh, who resigned earlier this month amid serious concerns about his personal conduct, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told Reuters.

Pazdur joined the FDA in 1999 and was named director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in 2005. He has been credited with speeding the review process for dozens of cancer drugs and is known as much for his advocacy, driven in part by the death of his wife from ovarian cancer, as for his regulatory expertise, according to a prior interview with Reuters.

Earlier this year, he was named the recipient of the American Association for Cancer Research 2025 Enduring Impact Award for Transformative Service to Cancer Science and Medicine.

Pazdur will now oversee one of the FDA's largest and most important divisions, which regulates over-the-counter and most prescription drugs.

His appointment comes amid significant leadership shakeups under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has already ousted longtime vaccine chief Peter Marks and gene-therapy head Nicole Verdun, marking major changes in FDA leadership.

In an interview with the New York Times earlier this month, Tidmarsh said he was placed on administrative leave after raising concerns about the legal basis of a new program for the rapid approval of some drugs.

Tidmarsh is also facing a lawsuit from Canadian drugmaker Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, which accuses him of soliciting a bribe and damaging the company's stock with false statements as part of a revenge campaign against a former colleague.

Pazdur will continue to lead the oncology center until a successor is named, the FDA said.

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Alan Barona)