President Joseph R. Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 February 11, 2021 Dear President Biden, The undersigned physicians, researchers, and leaders in oncology, including representatives who served on your Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel, would like to thank you for your lifelong commitment to science, patients, and innovation. As the First Lady said recently, “This is the fight of our lives” and we could not agree more. We stand ready to support you, Dr. Biden, and your Administration in your quest to end cancer as we know it. We applaud the inspiring appointments you have made to your cabinet and other leadership roles as you set out to combat cancer and COVID-19. We write to also express an urgency to make one of those remaining appointments and would like to respectfully voice our support for you to nominate Dr. Janet Woodcock as the permanent Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As leaders in oncology with decades of experience, we know that now more than ever, the FDA requires a strong and respected leader who has the deep understanding of science, public health, and drug development to steer the country through these unprecedented challenges. Taking the next step and nominating Dr. Woodcock as FDA Commissioner is the leadership we need to move forward in our deep understanding of science and would affirm to the American public that the FDA will continue to be the global gold standard to change patient’s lives for the better. Dr. Woodcock is uniquely qualified to run the FDA at this vital moment for the science and research taking place across the country. Many of us have known Dr. Woodcock throughout her decades of service as the director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. We have witnessed her impeccable ability to lead the Agency as it maintains the highest global standard for regulatory science, innovation, and protecting public health. During her time at the FDA, Dr. Woodcock’s leadership has overseen the approval of groundbreaking new treatments for patients and collaborative innovations in cancer care. Under her leadership at CDER, FDA approved more than 150 new medicines designated as Breakthrough Therapies, representing some of the most novel and impactful treatments, many of which are for previously untreatable forms of cancer. The Agency’s decisions have protected patients and advanced lifesaving treatments that are changing the landscape for cancer care across the world. We believe that no individual is better positioned to navigate the important work of the FDA and the current pandemic than the person leading the FDA right now. Dr. Woodcock’s experience will enhance the FDA’s commitment to fostering science-driven solutions during a crucial time for the Agency and our Nation’s public health. We ask you to do what is right for cancer patients, the scientific community, and the country by swiftly nominating Dr. Janet Woodcock to be our permanent FDA Commissioner. Sincerely, David B. Agus, MD Professor of Medicine and Engineering, University of Southern California CEO, Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine Syed A. Ahmad, MD, FACS Professor of Surgery; The Hayden Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Research; Co-Director, University of Cincinnati Cancer Center; Chief Division Surgical Oncology, The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine James P. Allison, PhD* Regental Professor and Chair, Department of Immunology, MD Anderson Cancer Center 2018 Nobel Laureate in Medicine and Physiology Dario C. Altieri, MD President and CEO; Director, The Wistar Institute Cancer Center Howard H. Bailey, MD Director, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center; Andy and Susan North Professor of Cancer Research, Professor of Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology, Associate Dean of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Anna Barker, PhD Former Deputy Director, National Cancer Institute Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Arizona State University Robert C. Bast, MD VP Translational Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center Mary C. Beckerle, PhD* CEO, Huntsman Cancer Institute Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, FASCO Professor of Medicine, Northwestern University Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD President and CEO Emeritus, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Mitchel S. Berger, MD* Professor, Neurological Surgery; Director, Brain Tumor Center, University of California San Francisco Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School Group Chair, Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Rohit Bhargava, PhD Director, Cancer Center at Illinois; Founder Professor in Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD Professor Emerita, University of California San Francisco Douglas W. Blayney, MD Professor of Medicine (Oncology), Stanford University President 2009-10, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD* Distinguished Professor, University of California San Francisco President and CEO, Sonoma Biotherapeutics Joan S. Brugge, PhD Professor; Director of Ludwig Center at Harvard, Harvard Medical School Paul A. Bunn, MD Distinguished Professor and James Dudley Chair, University of Colorado Cancer Center Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD Vice President, PICI Research and Development Michael A. Caligiuri, MD Past President, AACR John L. Cleveland, PhD Cortner-Couch Endowed Chair; Director, Moffitt Cancer Center Jorge Cortes, MD Professor of Medicine; Director, Georgia Cancer Center Cecil F. Whitaker Jr., GRA Eminent Scholar Chair in Cancer Kenneth H. Cowan, MD, PhD Director and Physician-In-Chief, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center; Director, Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, University of Nebraska Medical Center Kevin J. Cullen, MD Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Distinguished Professor of Oncology; Director, University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center Prescott Deininger, PhD Director, Tulane Cancer Center Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Chair in Oncology George D. Demetri, MD Director, Sarcoma Center; Senior Vice President for Experimental Therapeutics Institute Physician; Quick Family Chair in Medical Oncology; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Gerald V. Denis, PhD Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine; Co-Director, BU-BMC Cancer Center Mikael Dolsten, MD, PhD* Professor, Member, Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel Brian J. Druker, MD Director, OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD Director, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center Shelley Earp, MD Director, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP Director, Cancer Center; Associate Dean, Oncologic Sciences; Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University Laura Esserman, MD Director, UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center; Alfred A. de Lorimier Endowed Chair in General Surgery; Professor of Surgery and Radiology, University of California San Francisco Eric R. Fearon, MD, PhD Emanuel N. Maisel Professor of Oncology; Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine, Human Genetics, and Pathology; Director, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD Director, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center; Hillman Professor of Oncology; Associate Vice-Chancellor for Cancer Research; Co-Director, Tumor Microenvironment Center; Professor of Otolaryngology, of Immunology, and of Radiation Oncology Richard I. Fisher, MD President and CEO, Fox Chase Cancer Center; Executive Vice President, Temple University Health System; Senior Associate Dean for Cancer Programs, Lewis Katz School of Medicine; Robert C. Young, MD, Chair in Cancer Research, Temple University Keith T. Flaherty, MD Director of Clinical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPH Director, Yale Cancer Center Physician-in-Chief, Smilow Cancer Hospital Stanton L. Gerson, MD Professor of Medicine and Oncology, Case Western Reserve University, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Gad Getz, PhD* Professor, Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School Director of Bioinformatics, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Department of Pathology Director, Cancer Genome Computational Analysis and Institute Member, Broad Institute Laurie H. Glimcher, MD* President and CEO, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Daniel A. Haber, MD, PhD Director, Mass General Cancer Center; Kurt J Isselbacher Professor, Harvard Medical School Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD Ensign Professor of Medicine; Chief of Medical Oncology; Associate Director for Translational Research; Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine Helen Heslop, MD, DSc (Hon) Dan L Duncan Chair, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics; Interim Director, Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine Lifang Hou, MD, PhD* Professor; Chief, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, Department of Preventive Medicine; Director, Center for Global Oncology (CGO), Institite for Global Health (IGH), Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University Tyler Jacks, PhD* Director, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, FAACR, FACP* The Dana and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli Professor of Oncology; Deputy Director, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins; Co-Director, of the Gastrointestinal Cancers Program; Johns Hopkins Candace S. Johnson, PhD President and CEO, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Carl H. June, MD Richard W. Vague Professor