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FDA Commissioner to Step Down

Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, has announced he will be stepping down from his post as of next month, as GenomeWeb reports.

President Donald Trump nominated Gottlieb to the post in March 2017 and he was confirmed the following May. Gottlieb previously was a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute and served as deputy commissioner at the FDA during President George W. Bush's administration. He also has been a venture capitalist and a consultant to drug companies.

Gottlieb's resignation has come as a surprise to the Trump administration, the Washington Post reports, adding that Trump likes Gottlieb and doesn't want him to leave. "It was a very hard decision," Gottlieb tells the Post. "This is the best job I will ever have. I'm leaving because I need to spend time with my family. I get home late Friday, work on weekends and come back to Washington on Sunday. I did the job 100 percent." His resignation letter is here.

During his tenure as FDA commissioner, Gottlieb has focused on e-cigarettes and vaping, the Verge notes, as well as on the regulation of lab-developed tests, GenomeWeb adds.

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