White House Nixes FDA Candidate

By: Nancy Zuckerbrod

A college administrator who has called for greater oversight of drug companies no longer is under consideration to head the Food and Drug Administration.

Alastair Wood, a pharmacologist and assistant vice chancellor of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn., was told by the Bush administration he won't get the job, Vanderbilt spokesman John Howser said Thursday.

Wood has declined to be interviewed, Howser said.

Drug companies had lobbied against Wood's nomination, while Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., supported it. Frist, the only physician in the Senate, is the GOP point man on many health issues and a close ally of the Bush administration.

The Bush administration did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Much of Wood's research has focused on why patients respond differently to the same medicine. He also served on two FDA advisory panels and has called for increased monitoring of drugs once they are in the marketplace.

The FDA is responsible for evaluating the safety of food, drugs and medical devices. The commissioner's post has been vacant since President Bush took office more than a year ago. The last FDA commissioner was Jane Henney.