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Former FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach
Joins Greenleaf Health as Senior Advisor
NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, February 25, 2009 – Greenleaf Health LLC today announced that Andrew C. von Eschenbach, MD, who recently stepped down as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has joined the firm as Senior Advisor. Greenleaf Health is a full service regulatory consulting firm that provides strategic guidance to companies regulated by the FDA and companies developing innovative solutions to pressing public health challenges around the globe.
Dr. von Eschenbach, who resigned as FDA Commissioner in January after leading the agency since 2005, will offer strategic counsel to Greenleaf’s clients. Dr. von Eschenbach, an oncologist who previously served as director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), will continue his leadership and advocacy on behalf of the cancer community by working to bring innovative treatments to patients, according to Patrick Ronan, Founder and President of Greenleaf Health.
“Andy’s experience as a former FDA Commissioner and former director of the NCI, together with his decades of service as a cancer researcher and practicing oncologist, enables him to bring unparalleled experience and knowledge to Greenleaf Health,” Ronan said. “His addition to the firm sets Greenleaf apart with respect to the depth of knowledge about FDA decision-making, critical health policy matters and the global public health community.”
“As I look forward to new opportunities to transform healthcare, I am pleased to contribute to Greenleaf’s efforts on behalf of the public health,” Dr. von Eschenbach said. “Working with Greenleaf’s clients to help them bring life-saving therapies to the patients and doctors who need them is one gratifying way for me to provide input on crucial health policy issues.”
Medical Leadership and Public Service
Dr. von Eschenbach entered government service following a distinguished three-decade-long career as a physician, surgeon, oncologist, medical educator and hospital executive. He is the only person to have served both as FDA Commissioner -- from 2005 until 2009 – and as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – from 2002 until 2005.
As FDA Commissioner, Dr. von Eschenbach’s leadership was marked by his efforts to modernize the agency and enhance its ability to fulfill its mission of protecting and promoting public health. During his tenure, he emphasized FDA’s role in working with external partners to assure quality throughout the entire life cycle of the products it regulates. Internally, he initiated process improvements to establish a regulatory pathway that was rigorous and science-led, yet transparent and efficient.
His administration was also marked by innovation in fostering creative projects, including FDA’s “Beyond Our Borders Initiative,” which created FDA permanent offices around the world, beginning with China in November 2008, and implementation of the “Critical Path Initiative,” which brought modern scientific tools to the product development process. Dr. von Eschenbach’s leadership team directed an intense focus on the needs of FDA staffers through initiatives that included the creation of an agency-wide Commissioner’s Fellowship program and the accelerated build-out of a new, integrated FDA campus in White Oak, MD.
At a time when the volume of foreign imports entering the United States doubled, Dr. von Eschenbach substantially increased FDA collaboration with regulatory counterparts in other countries, provided technical assistance to foreign regulators and industries, and ramped up efforts to learn more about importers and their products.
His administration also fostered the integration of long-range strategic projects, such as the Drug Safety Plan and the Food Protection Plan, aimed at protecting the nation’s food supply from both unintentional contamination and deliberate attack.
Dr. von Eschenbach’s emphasis on transforming federal agencies also marked his four years of service as Director of the NCI, a role he held prior to becoming FDA Commissioner. As head of the NCI, he initiated programs and committed resources to ensure the application to oncology of nanotechnology, genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, and other emerging technologies.
Dr. von Eschenbach was President-Elect of the American Cancer Society when he was tapped to lead the NCI by then President George W. Bush. Prior to that time, Dr. von Eschenbach spent more than 25 years in numerous leadership roles -- from Chairman of the Department of Urologic Oncology to Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer -- at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, an institution renowned for the magnitude and excellence of its clinical and research cancer programs.
An internationally renowned cancer specialist and author of more than 200 scientific articles, Dr. von Eschenbach was a founding member of the National Dialogue on Cancer. He has received dozens of professional awards and honors during his long career.
In 2006, Dr. von Eschenbach was named one of Time magazine’s “100 most influential people to shape the world,” and in both 2007 and 2008 he was selected as one of the Modern Healthcare/Modern Physician’s “50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare.”
Dr. von Eschenbach received a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Joseph’s University in his native Philadelphia and a medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He served as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps. After completing a residency in urologic surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Dr. von Eschenbach was an instructor in urology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed a Fellowship in Urologic Oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
About Greenleaf Health LLC
Established in 2008, Greenleaf Health is a full service regulatory consulting firm that provides strategic guidance to companies regulated by the FDA and companies developing innovative solutions to pressing public health challenges around the globe. The firm has offices in New York and Washington, DC.