WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, just appointed acting head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, plans to re-examine the drug-review process.
Von Eschenbach describes the FDA review of drugs for safety and efficacy as "the gold standard," the Wall Street Journal reported.
"No matter how good it is, the question always has to be asked, can we make it better?" he said.
President Bush named von Eschenbach FDA's acting director Friday after Dr. Lester Crawford, who resigned unexpectedly only two months after he was confirmed. Von Eschenbach, a cancer survivor who heads the National Cancer Institute, plans to do both jobs.
Von Eschenbach said it was too early to know whether he is being considered as a permanent replacement for Crawford.
