Andrew von Eschenbach

Andrew C. von Eschenbach (born October 30, 1941 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was the Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration from 2006–2009. He became acting Commissioner on September 26, 2005, after the resignation of his predecessor Lester Crawford, and was confirmed as Commissioner by the Senate on December 7, 2006. He was previously the 12th director of the National Cancer Institute.

Von Eschenbach currently serves on the Board of Directors of BioTime (NYSE MKT: BTX), a biotechnology company helmed by CEO Michael D. West, PhD. He also serves as a director of Viamet Pharmaceuticals.

After graduating from St. Joseph's Preparatory School, von Eschenbach received his bachelor of science in biology from St. Joseph's University in 1963 and his MD from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1967. He did residencies at Pennsylvania Hospital in general surgery and urology and taught urology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He served in the US Navy Medical Corps with the rank of lieutenant commander from 1968 to 1971.