Richard Pazdur, longtime FDA oncology leader, to head agency’s main drug office

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The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday tapped a long-time veteran of the agency’s oncology division, Richard Pazdur, to become the new director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research .

Pazdur has worked at the agency since 1999 and was the founding director of the Oncology Center of Excellence in 2017. The FDA called him a “renowned regulatory innovator” who led a series of initiatives to streamline the approval of new cancer medications.

Pazdur will step in after the short and troubled tenure of George Tidmarsh , who was named director of CDER in July and within months generated controversy by questioning the safety of an approved Aurinia Pharmaceuticals drug in a social media post. Tidmarsh resigned this month amid a probe into his conduct.

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