Editor's Note
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's announcement that he will step down has the industry questioning what will happen to significant FDA initiatives that Gottlieb began, but will likely leave unfinished. Gottlieb had recently announced his intention to explore “pathways” for FDA to consider “circumstances in which certain cannabis-derived compounds [like CBD] might be permitted in a food or dietary supplement.” He had also recently announced “new efforts to strengthen regulation of dietary supplements by modernizing and reforming FDA’s oversight.” Gottlieb's sometimes activist agenda was often at odds with traditional Republican deregulation goals, suggesting that his successor will likely find it difficult to get support for regulatory initiatives from the Health and Human Secretary (HHS) Secretary, the White House and Republicans in Congress.
FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s resignation announcement was greeted with uncertainty among supplement industry figures gathered in Anaheim for Natural Products Expo West, with many questioning what to expect from the agency’s efforts toward clarity around hemp CBD. ...

American Herbal Products Association President Michael McGuffin described Gottlieb as the most engaged commissioner he’s worked with in the decades he’s spent representing the supplements industry. “No other commissioner has embraced the agency, and his public role, anywhere near as effectively as Scott Gottlieb,” McGuffin said. Gottlieb’s statement Feb. 11 about efforts to modernize and reform FDA oversight of supplements was delivered “in a respectful manner,” McGuffin said.

But losing Gottlieb could mean movement around CBD will stall, McGuffin said.