GOP's top drug czar resigns amid drug scandals

GOP’s top drug czar resigns amid drug scandals

A top Republican on the National Institutes of Health said Thursday that he has resigned amid the controversy over a drug study that led to his dismissal.

Michele Fauci, who served as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George W. Bush, also said she would step down as a vice president at the company that she led.

The news of Faucci’s resignation comes just days after she resigned from a position as the head of a group that was set up to oversee drug research by the National Academy of Sciences.

The group, known as the National Academies Drug Advisory Board, was set to conduct a review of a new drug called Sovaldi.

The National Institutes for Health, which oversees the NIH, said the review concluded the drug is safe, effective and well tolerated.

Fauci said in a statement that she will step down from the NIDA board of governors, a position that requires approval by the NIH.

She said in the statement that her resignation does not affect her role as the president of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is run by the White House.

Furlong said in her resignation letter that she had learned of the “recent misconduct involving the review” and had been “deeply troubled” by it.

She said she had taken steps to “redress the situation.”

Furlongs letter did not specify whether she would have been required to resign had she accepted the NIH position or not.

A spokeswoman for the NIH said Furlong has resigned.