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Report: Trump to pick cancer doctor Hahn to lead US FDA over acting chief

President Donald Trump may be on the verge of nominating MD Anderson cancer doctor Stephen Hahn to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, despite his lack of government experience.

SNL ImageStephen Hahn
Source: MD Anderson Cancer Center

The news was first reported by the biopharmaceutical trade publication Biocentury and later confirmed by Stat News, both citing unidentified sources close to the matter.

The White House declined to comment on those reports.

Hahn is the chief medical executive at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has been rumored for a number of weeks to be the top contender. MD Anderson had no comment on Hahn's potential nomination for the FDA job.

Ned Sharpless has been acting as FDA commissioner in a temporary capacity since April, when Scott Gottlieb left after less than two years.

In March, Gottlieb said he was resigning from the FDA to spend more time with his family. Since then, he has taken six jobs, now working for the American Enterprise Institute, New Enterprise Associates, CNBC, Pfizer Inc., FasterCures and Aetion Inc.

Five former FDA commissioners — Democratic and Republican appointees, including Gottlieb — and nearly 60 healthcare groups had backed Sharpless for the agency's top job.

Hahn has no regulatory or industry experience, though he has overseen a number of clinical trials at MD Anderson. His only government experience was six years from 1989 to 1995 in the U.S. Public Health Service at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

SNL ImageNed Sharpless at the White House with First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump to discuss banning e-cigarettes.
Source: AP Photo

If confirmed as FDA commissioner, Hahn would be walking away from a $1.3 million a year salary to take a government job that pays $155,000 annually.

Sharpless is expected to stay on in the acting role at the FDA during Hahn's Senate confirmation process. If Hahn gets the job, Sharpless is expected to return to the NCI, where he was director before taking the temporary job at the FDA.

In recent months, Sharpless has been criticized for moving too slow on regulating e-cigarettes.

Late last month, the acting chief proposed a new rule establishing the process for tobacco companies to submit applications for selling their e-cigarette and vaping products.