Andrew C. von Eschenbach (born October 30, 1941 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

) was the Commissioner

FDA commissioner

The Commissioner of Food and Drugs is the head of the Food and Drug Administration , an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The commissioner is appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate...

 of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Food and Drug Administration

Food and Drug Administration

The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...

 from 2006–2009. He became acting Commissioner on September 26, 2005, after the resignation of his predecessor Lester Crawford

Lester Crawford

Lester Mills Crawford is an American veterinarian and former Commissioner of Food and Drugs.Crawford resigned as head of the Food and Drug Administration in September 2005 after a stormy two-month stint...

, and was confirmed as Commissioner by the Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on December 7, 2006. He was previously the 12th director of the National Cancer Institute

National Cancer Institute

The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...

.

After graduating from St. Joseph's Preparatory School, von Eschenbach received his bachelor of science in biology from St. Joseph's University in 1963 and his MD from Georgetown University School of Medicine

Georgetown University School of Medicine

Georgetown University School of Medicine, a medical school opened in 1851, is one of Georgetown University's five graduate schools. It is located on Reservoir Road in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, adjacent to the University's main campus...

 in 1967. He did residencies at Pennsylvania Hospital

Pennsylvania Hospital

Pennsylvania Hospital is a hospital in Center City, Philadelphia, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System . Founded on May 11, 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond, it was the first hospital in the United States...

 in general surgery and urology

Urology

Urology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...

 and taught urology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

The Perelman School of Medicine , formerly the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was founded in 1765, making it the oldest American medical school. As part of the University of Pennsylvania, it is located in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is widely...

. He served in the US Navy Medical Corps

Navy Medical Corps

The Medical Corps of the United States Navy is a staff corps consisting of military physicians in a variety of specialties. It is the senior corps among all staff corps, second in precedence only to line officers...

 with the rank of lieutenant commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 from 1968 to 1971.

In 1976, von Eschenbach began his long association with The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is one of the nation's original three comprehensive cancer centers established by the National Cancer Act of 1971. It is both a degree-granting academic institution and a cancer treatment and research center located at the Texas Medical Center in...

, beginning as a urologic oncology fellow and becoming chair of the department of urology in 1983. He was founding director of the Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...

 Research Program in 1996, director of the Genitourinary Cancer Center, and held the Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Clinical Research Distinguished Chair in Urologic Oncology. Driven by his father's prostate cancer

Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...

, he specialized in the disease.

Von Eschenbach was president-elect of the American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...

 when he was selected by President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 to head the NCI in December 2001. As director of the NCI he announced in 2003 that his organization's goal was to "eliminate suffering and death" caused by cancer by the year 2015. However, under von Eschenbach's leadership the FDA has been criticized for being too risk averse when considering life saving treatments for desperate, dying patients. For example, in 2007 the FDA failed to approve Provenge for the treatment of late stage prostate cancer against the recommendation of an independent advisory committee.

Von Eschenbach was criticized for overruling his staff recommendations, and approving the Menaflex knee implant, made by ReGen Biologics Inc., New Jersey, on a fast-track basis, after four New Jersey congressmen lobbied on ReGen's behalf. Von Eschenbach said, "We fumbled that process."

In 2006, Time named him as one of the Time 100 "People Who Shape Our World", writing that as head of the FDA, which "wields enormous influence on American lives", von Eschenbach "could make a signal contribution to the public's health" by focusing on issues of diet and obesity in addition to drugs and disease.

On August 1, 2006, Senators Clinton and Cantwell

Maria Cantwell

Maria E. Cantwell is the junior United States Senator from the state of Washington and a member of the Democratic Party....

 announced they would block his nomination to be the permanent FDA commissioner because of his department's failure to act on the application by Barr Pharmaceuticals

Barr Pharmaceuticals

Barr Pharmaceuticals was a global specialty pharmaceutical company that operated in more than 30 countries worldwide. Barr were engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.-History:Barr...

 to sell Plan B over-the-counter. They ultimately voted for his nomination.

Andrew von Eschenbach was instrumental in the development and growth of the Prostate Cancer Foundation (founded by Michael Milken

Michael Milken

Michael Robert Milken is an American business magnate, financier, and philanthropist noted for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds during the 1970s and 1980s, for his 1990 guilty plea to felony charges for violating US securities laws, and for his funding of medical...

) since its inception in 1993 and held a board membership position and scientific advisor role at the foundation. C-Change, a forum that brings together the principal leaders of key national cancer organizations, and founded by Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, is in partnership with the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

External links

• Food and Drug Administration biography
• National Cancer Institute biography
• "Biosketch for Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach", NCI BenchMarks, vol. 2 no. 1, January 22, 2002.
• "Andrew von Eschenbach: Entering the Fray at the FDA", Michael Jacobson, Time, Apr. 30, 2006.