Unlike many Bush appointees who are now responsible for regulating former employers, McClellan has never worked for the pharmaceutical industry. This helped secure the support of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), chair of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the nomination, who reportedly insisted on independence.
Previously, McClellan served as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration, and on the National Cancer Policy Board of the National Academy of Sciences. He has a medical degree from Harvard, a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his specialty is reportedly in health economics, specifically the costs and benefits of new medical technologies.
The FDA employs more than 9,000 people, regulates almost a fourth of the U.S. economy, including the pharmaceutical industry, and deals with highly politicized issues, including whether to allow marketing of RU 486, the "abortion drug," how to deal with bio-terrorism, and what level of rigor to employ in reviewing new drug applications.
Many of these issues were raised at his confirmation hearing, but McClellan was generally noncommittal and adopted a conciliatory tone, saying he would listen to everyone’s point of view. In response to industry complaints that FDA is too slow in approving new drugs, McClellan promised to work with industry to improve the process, offering no specific plan.