Joshua Sharfstein, who is currently head of the Baltimore Health Department, is said to have extremely good chances of becoming the next Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner.

Sharfstein, who has denounced in the past drug maker Pfizer Incorporated for having hosted an event in a pool hall, is now leading Barack Obama’s team of experts evaluating the agency, which makes him a likely candidate for the position.

Presently, the Congress is looking into the FDA with regards to several matters, including their approval of some drugs that had to be withdrawn from the markets later by virtue of safety issues.

Furthermore, the agency’s method of dealing with tainted milk products and a commonly used blood thinner that were imported from China is also under Congressional investigation.

Another person whose name is circulating where the next president of the FDA is concerned is head of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Steven Nissen, who criticized the agency for having given the go-ahead to the diabetes medicine Avandia and the anticholesterol pill Vytorin, which raised safety questions.

Senior official at the agency Janet Woodcock is also a possible candidate, although not as likely to be entrusted with the responsibility of running the FDA as Sharfstein or Nissen.

Dr. Sharfstein, 39, managed to determine the FDA last year to prevent drug makers from selling over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to small children. During a speech delivered this week, he stated that he believed the FDA should put more emphasis on requiring companies to present evidence that their drugs saved lives, rather than focusing on specific beneficial effects for patients.