National Consumers League welcomes appointment of Janet Woodcock as acting commissioner of food and drugs

For immediate release: January 29, 2021

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org(412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org(202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) welcomes the naming of Dr. Janet Woodcock as Acting Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration. Woodcock will oversee the full breadth of the FDA’s work.

This statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

We welcome Dr. Woodcock’s naming as Acting Commissioner of the FDA. Her decades of experience and deep knowledge of this critically important federal health and safety agency, its staff, and its vast legislative and regulatory authority, makes her an excellent choice to head the FDA as the nation’s healthcare infrastructure struggles to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. NCL works not only on drug safety and development, but on food policy issues, which also falls under the purview of the FDA; thus, we share many issues of mutual concern to consumer advocacy and fight for the implementation of important safety and health regulations.

Dr. Woodcock has long been a friend of the consumer community and has maintained an ‘open door’ policy with consumer and patient advocacy groups, willing to listen to all sides and make time on her very busy calendar for the concerns of average citizens. In 2017, NCL was proud to recognize Dr. Woodcock with the National Consumers League’s Florence Kelley Consumer Leadership Award, an honor for outstanding leaders who transform the world we live in for the better. The award is named for Florence Kelley, NCL’s fearless first leader and towering historical figure who pioneered health care and labor reform in the first decades of the 20th Century. NCL welcomes Dr. Woodcock as Acting Commissioner of the FDA and looks forward to continuing to support the agency’s hard work through a productive relationship.

Dr. Woodcock has been bestowed numerous honors over her distinguished public health career in addition to NCL’s Florence Kelley Award, most notably: a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices; the Ellen V. Sigal Advocacy Leadership Award in 2016 from Friends of Cancer Research; and the 2019 Biotechnology Heritage Award from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and Science History Institute.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.