Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Jane Henney, who ran the Food and Drug Administration when the abortion pill RU-486 pill was approved, is among those being considered for FDA chief under President-elect Barack Obama.

An Obama representative asked Henney, who headed the agency from November 1998 until January 2001 under President Bill Clinton, if she was interested in the job, and she said yes, according to a person familiar with the matter. Henney, 61, a professor of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, declined to comment when reached by telephone.

Henney is one of a number of people whose names have been linked to the job. Jen Psaki, an Obama transition spokeswoman, declined to comment. While criticized by Republicans for her role in the agency’s approval of Mifeprex, the abortion pill known as RU-486, Henney won praise during her tenure from industry groups and lawmakers. They cited her work in implementing legislation that sped the pace of drug approvals and reduced agency red tape.

Among those being backed by advocates for consumers or patients for FDA commissioner, or who have expressed interest in the job, are cardiologist Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic, Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore City’s health commissioner, and Robert Califf, a professor of medicine at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Henney serves on the boards of the health insurer Cigna Corp., drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp. and drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc.

She served as the FDA’s deputy commissioner for operations from 1992 to 1994 and held various posts at the National Cancer Institute, a U.S. agency, including deputy director.

In recent years, the FDA has approved unsafe medicines and hasn’t inspected enough overseas plants to ensure the safety of food and drug imports, according to lawmakers led by Democratic Representative John D. Dingell of Michigan. Scientists advising the agency have warned that lives are at risk because the FDA lacks the funding to keep up with scientific advances.

To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Blum in Washington at jblum4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 7, 2009 17:03 EST