Jeffrey Lieberman M.D

Forbes | Rob Califf May Be the Most Qualified Commissioner in FDA’s History

Dr. Robert Califf testifies during his nomination hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee November 17, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Califf is U.S. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Forbes • Sept 14 2016

By Jeffrey Lieberman

Departing from the massive complex of buildings that house the Food and Drug Administration after a meeting with the new FDA Commissioner, Robert Califf, I felt something that I rarely have felt on prior encounters with heads of major government agencies: elation. It was clear from the three-hour-plus discussion that Commissioner Califf held with key mental health stakeholder organizations that this newly installed bureaucrat (in the good sense of the term) clearly understood drug development and had the administrative and political savvy to tackle the formidable task of leading this all-important (when it comes to healthcare and therapeutics development) component of the federal government and manage its sprawling scope of responsibilities.