One of my most daunting early tasks at the FDA was to meet with Dr. Janet Woodcock (then the Director of CDER), introduce myself and share my opinions on helping the agency move forward under Commissioner Mark McClellan. After we were done, she stood up and said, “Well, you seem to know what you’re talking about.”
That may not seem like a lot to the casual observer – but it was high praise indeed from the High Priestess of Drug Review. Janet doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
That’s why this article about her (by a journalist I hold in great esteem, Steve Usdin of BioCentury) is so on-point, timely, satisfying, well-deserved – and worth a read.
As Usdin concludes, “… a fair accounting of Woodcock’s legacy will also have to consider the depth and breadth of her contributions to FDA and the patients it serves.”
That may not seem like a lot to the casual observer – but it was high praise indeed from the High Priestess of Drug Review. Janet doesn’t suffer fools gladly.
That’s why this article about her (by a journalist I hold in great esteem, Steve Usdin of BioCentury) is so on-point, timely, satisfying, well-deserved – and worth a read.
As Usdin concludes, “… a fair accounting of Woodcock’s legacy will also have to consider the depth and breadth of her contributions to FDA and the patients it serves.”
