News Brief: FDA CDER Director Patrizia Cavazzoni Announces Resignation

Several media outlets have reported the planned resignation of U.S. FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Director Patrizia Cavazzoni, effective January 18, following a seven-year career with the Agency. Cavazzoni served as CDER’s Director since 2021.

Each media report cited an email Dr. Cavazzoni sent earlier today to colleagues announcing her decision. Other FDA officials have announced retirements and resignations in the past several weeks, with many reports linking these to the November election.

Cavazzoni was a key presenter at the 2024 PDA/FDA Joint Regulatory Conference in Washington, D.C., September 9-11, where she delivered the talk entitled, “A Regulatory Perspective on Quality, Integrity, and FDA Modernization.” At the 2023 PDA/FDA conference, Cavazzoni discussed maintaining quality assurance of medicines through sustainable compliance.