Former FDA cancer drug chief under consideration to return

Rachel Cohrs Zhang, Bloomberg News on Jun 27, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Richard Pazdur, an oncologist who spent 26 years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before his abrupt exit in December, is under consideration to return to the agency, people familiar with the matter said.

Pazdur left the FDA just weeks after he was promoted to be the agency’s top drug regulator. The drug industry and its investors viewed Pazdur as a steady hand at the FDA and a return could signal an attempt to stabilize the regulator rocked by months of turmoil.

He is being considered for a senior leadership role, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential.

The administration plans to announce a senior leadership team alongside the commissioner nominee, the people said. The discussions are still underway and no decisions have been made, they added.

“Unless officially announced by the White House, any reporting about personnel nominations should be considered baseless hearsay,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. Pazdur didn’t respond to a call and message seeking comment.

The FDA has been without a permanent leader since Marty Makary resigned as commissioner after a tumultuous tenure marked by conflicts with staff and drug companies. Other senior leaders exited after him.

Pazdur served as the FDA’s top cancer drug regulator since 1999 before his promotion to lead the agency’s Center on Drug Evaluation and Research.

Shortly before he left the FDA, he met with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to air concerns over Makary’s leadership, including about personnel changes and a program to speed drug approvals for companies that align with Trump administration priorities. Pazdur has continued to speak out about his concerns with the agency’s attrition and direction since.

Pazdur was noncommittal when asked about returning to the FDA during a recent conference. “I have lived my life at the FDA,” he said at a Stat event in May. “It has been my life. I want the place to succeed, and I will leave it at that.”

Candidates under consideration for the commissioner role include physician Jeff Vacirca, Pentagon health official Stephen Ferrara and White House policy aide Heidi Overton, Bloomberg News reported earlier this week.

(Robert Langreth contributed to this report.)