Deputy Commissioner Bumpus announces departure from FDA
Namandjé Bumpus, the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) principal deputy commissioner and second in command, will be leaving the agency at the end of the year, according to an internal email reviewed by Focus.Bumpus has been in her current role since February 2024, when she replaced former Principal Deputy Commissioner Janet Woodcock. Previously, Bumpus served as the agency’s chief scientist.
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf announced the news in an email to staff on Tuesday. Califf credits Bumpus for her “enormous contributions across the agency,” noting that she “had an extraordinary impact on the growth, effectiveness and overall success of the agency.”
Califf commended Bumpus with shepherding the agency through its recent reorganization, which centered on the creation of a unified human foods program and a new model for field operations.
The changes she put in place through this reorganization “support employees with improved working conditions, allow us to better harness the tools and technologies that are available, and provide patients and consumers with a truly state-of-the art public health agency,” Califf wrote.
In her role as chief scientist, Califf credited Bumpus with leading efforts to modernize and consolidate FDA’s laboratories. In this role, “she oversaw and elevated the research foundation, science and innovation that provides vital support for the agency’s public health mission.”
In an announcement, Bumpus expressed her gratitude “for the opportunity to serve as your Principal Deputy Commissioner.”
It is unclear when Bumpus will be replaced, as are her plans following her departure from the agency. Her move to leave FDA marks another high-profile departure at the agency, following the upcoming retirement of Douglas Throckmorton, the agency’s deputy center director for regulatory programs next month.
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