FDA official Pazdur's retirement adds uncertainty for the pharma sector, RBC says

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's newly appointed head of the drug evaluation department, Richard Pazdur, has decided to retire from the health agency, an FDA spokesperson said

The agency's veteran oncology chief Pazdur took over the role on November 11, replacing George Tidmarsh after he resigned amid serious concerns about his personal conduct

This adds uncertainty and is a net negative for most of the sector, RBC Capital Markets says

Brokerage adds this raises concerns over the future direction of the division and the FDA's ability to maintain its current pace of progress

Key will be whether the next appointed CDER head will be someone with deep regulatory and/or industry experience or may be a more out-of-the-box selection from the MAHA sphere, brokerage adds

STAT News reported the development earlier in the day