The FDA's New Sheriff

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David Kessler is that rare creature in cynical Washington: a hero. In the few months since he rode into town to head the beleaguered Food and Drug Administration, he has, for example, terrorized the food industry into using package labels that bear some relation to the contents, cracked down on misleading claims in the drug industry, and, of course, become a media star. He is also leading a revolution in drug testing and approval. The traditional clinical trial will never be the same, and nobody is sure whether that's good news or bad.

Among the reforms announced in November:

* Quicker approval for new drug applications, including a "fast-track" for drugs for life-threatening illnesses. Accelerated approval is supposed to reduce the time it takes to get new drugs to market, from the present ten years to …