Respected FDA policy thought leader with more than 20 years of health care policy experience.
Served as the deputy commissioner for policy, legislation and international affairs.
Served as the health policy director and senior advisor to Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) for all health care issues, including health care policy under the jurisdiction of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

Anna is a respected Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy thought leader with more than 20 years of health care policy experience. Anna joined Akin after serving as the deputy commissioner for policy, legislation and International affairs—the top FDA policy official. As Deputy Commissioner, Anna played a critical role in overseeing the development and implementation of key policy initiatives and provided strategic policy direction to advance FDA’s public health mission.

Prior to being appointed to this senior leadership position at the FDA, Anna served as the long-time health policy director and senior advisor to Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) for all health care issues, including health care policy under the jurisdiction of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Anna’s contributions to advancing bipartisan FDA and medical and public health preparedness and response legislation were notable during her tenure with the Senate HELP Committee, including securing multiple patient-centered drug and device provisions in the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act and 21st Century Cures Act.

Over the years, Anna has been a leader in advancing legislation to support innovation on behalf of patients and strengthen public health. She played a key role in the bipartisan negotiation and enactment of the most significant security enhancements to the United States’s pharmaceutical supply chain in the past 25 years through the Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA). Anna was also instrumental in strengthening our medical and public health preparedness and response and medical countermeasure programs, through the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 (PAHPRA).

Anna was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as an associate director at the Domestic Policy Council at The White House. In this role, she coordinated the development and implementation of a range of health care policy issues, including food, drug and public health policy. She coordinated the White House-led, interagency policy process to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2008.

Representative Work

Led high-profile and significant policy, regulatory initiatives and engagements related to a range of policy matters, including drug competition, drug compounding, agricultural biotechnology, food policy, medical countermeasures and tobacco policy, with notable interagency collaborations with the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.*
Led FDA’s legislative strategy for significant public health legislation, including the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, the Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2018 and Over-the-Counter Drug Monograph reform.*
Spearheaded the bipartisan negotiation and enactment of the most significant security enhancements to the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain in 25 years through the Drug Quality and Security Act.*
Successfully negotiated the introduction and enactment of the bipartisan Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 (PAHPRA).*
Secured multiple provisions in the 2012 FDA user fee reauthorization and 21st Century Cures Act to advance medical product innovation on behalf of patients and strengthen public health.*

*Work completed prior to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Education
B.A., University of Pennsylvania, Magna Cum Laude, 2003

Recognitions

National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics, Top Lobbyists, 2022, 2023.

Affiliations and Public Service

Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Legislation and International Affairs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2017-2021).
Health Policy Director and Senior Advisor (along with other roles) to Sen. Richard Burr, Senate HELP Committee, U.S. Senate (2009-2017).
Associate Director, Domestic Policy Council, The White House (2007-2009).
Legislative Aide (along with other roles), Office of Sen. Rick Santorum, U.S. Senate (2003-2006).

Speeches and Publications

Speaker, Alliance for Health Policy “Health Policy Roundup: Background on FDA User Fee Programs”, Washington, D.C., February 2022
Speaker, American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy Annual Meeting “Overview of the Accelerated Approval Pathway: Definitions, Legislative History, and Purpose”, Washington, D.C., May 2022.
FDA Spotlight Speaker, Biocom Annual “Celebration of Life” Dinner, San Diego, CA, November 2019.
Keynote Speaker, Food Allergy Fund Summit, Washington, D.C., November 2019.
Keynote Speaker, AAM Grx+Biosims 2019 Conference, Bethesda, MD, November 2019.
Keynote Speaker, 16th Annual Accelerating Anticancer Agent and Development (AAADV) Workshop, Bethesda, MD, May 2019.
Panelist, “Challenges and Approaches for FDA-Regulated Companies Operating Globally,” Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) 2019 Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., May 2019.
Presenter, Alliance for a Stronger FDA, Washington, D.C., April 2019.
Presenter, Friends of Cancer Research Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., November 2018.
Keynote Speaker, The Galien Forum, New York, NY, October 2018.
Presenter, The Jax Healthcare Forum, Hartford, CT, October 2018.
Opening Presenter, FDA/DIA 2018 Complex Generic Drug-Device Combination Products Workshop, Silver Spring, MD, October 2018.
Presenter, NC Biosciences Organization (NCBIO) Annual Meeting, Research Triangle Park, NC, October 2018.
Panelist, “The View From Washington: Part I,” The Wall Street Journal Global Food Forum, New York, NY, September 2018.
Keynote Speaker, PDA/FDA Joint Regulatory Conference, Washington, D.C., September 2018.
Presenter, “Patients and Science at the Center of 21st Century Regulations,” The International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA) Summit 2018, Washington, D.C., September 2018.
Keynote Speaker, AAM Grx+Biosims 2018 Conference, Baltimore, MD, September 2018.
Testimony as FDA Witness, “Examining the Reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act,” House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health, Washington, D.C., June 2018.
Presenter, The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., May 2018.
Featured Speaker, FDLI 2018 Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., May 2018.
Keynote Speaker, AAADV Workshop, Bethesda, MD, May 2018.
Panelist, World Bank’s Innovations in Food Safety for Sustainable Development, Washington, D.C. April 2018.
Presenter, “FDA Priorities: A Conversation with Deputy Commissioner Anna Abram,” The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 2018.
Closing Keynote Speaker, MassBio Annual Meeting, Cambridge, MA, March 2018.
Keynote Speaker, FDA/Xavier University PharmaLink Conference, Cincinnati, OH, March 2018.
FDA Keynote Address, AAM Access! 2018 Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, February 2018.
Speaker, Politico’s Emerging Health Care Leaders, Washington, D.C., November 2017.
Panelist, BioPharma Congress, Washington, D.C., November 2017.
Presenter, BARDA Industry Day, Washington, D.C., November 2017.
Panelist, “Precision Medicine: Can the Government Cure Cancer?,” Cleveland Clinic’s 2017 Medical Innovation Summit, Cleveland, OH, October 2017.
Keynote Speaker, Medical Device Innovation Consortium Annual Public Forum, Washington, D.C., October 2017.