FDA Commissioner Hamburg to Step Down in March

WASHINGTON—Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg will leave the agency by the end of March, ending a tenure marked by an expansion of food safety regulation and speedier drug approvals.

Dr. Hamburg said in an interview it was her decision to leave after almost six years leading the agency because “this is a difficult and demanding job where you’re buffeted by all sorts of points of view.”

Her temporary replacement will be the FDA’s chief scientist, Dr. Stephen Ostroff. One possible permanent successor is Robert Califf of Duke University, whom Dr. Hamburg recently selected as her deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco. Dr. Califf has long been known as someone interested in the top FDA job, and was considered for it at least once before, he has said in interviews.