HHS Plans Two New FDA Deputy Commissioners, One for Technology and AI

The Department of Health and Human Services is planning two new deputy commissioner posts at the Food and Drug Administration, according to sources familiar with the plan: one covering technology and the intersection of health and artificial intelligence, the other covering drugs.

The FDA already has several deputy commissioners. What distinguishes these is who appoints them — HHS officials rather than the agency — which some inside the administration regard as a route to greater departmental influence over the FDA.

The candidate and the remit

Jared Seehafer, a senior FDA adviser and medical devices industry veteran, is the leading candidate for the technology role, according to three people familiar with the matter. He co-founded and formerly led Enzyme, a life sciences compliance company.

The underlying problem is real. Software and AI systems now sit inside diagnostics, triage and drug discovery, and the FDA's device pathways were not designed for products that change after approval. Somebody has to own that question.

Why the appointment route matters

No final decisions have been made and nothing has been formally announced. The structural point survives either way: the FDA's authority rests on a reputation for scientific independence, and appointments controlled a level up are the standard mechanism by which such independence erodes.

That is not a prediction about the individuals involved. It is an observation about incentives, and it is the reason the pharmaceutical and device industries will read the final org chart closely.