FDA's Frankos Joining Herbalife

LOS ANGELES Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) announced Vasilios H. Frankos, M.S., Ph.D., will retire from FDA in March and join Herbalife as the companys senior vice president, product compliance and safety, effective April 2010. Frankos is currently the director, division of dietary supplements programs, at FDAs Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).

Bill Frankos exemplifies Herbalifes commitment to providing science-based nutritional supplements of the highest quality available in the marketplace, said Michael O. Johnson, Herbalife chairman and CEO.

Frankos has more than two decades experience in creating policies and standards for safe and effective dietary supplements and ingredients. In his most recent position at FDA, Frankos directed the dietary supplement division, advising on policy and management issues on dietary supplement programs, new dietary ingredient (NDI) safety assessments and related activities pertaining to dietary supplements. During his tenure, Frankos oversaw implementation of a final rule for dietary supplement GMP (good manufacturing practice requirements), and worked with FDA field offices to coordinate and evaluate inspections of more than 2,000 facilities. He also led efforts on reporting serious adverse events associated with dietary supplements by implementing the Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act.

Before joining FDA, Frankos was a principal with ENVIRON for over 18 years, providing consultation on FDA and EPA product registration and the toxicological and pharmacological evaluation of data used to assess the risks posed by foods and food additives, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, pesticides, and environmental and occupational exposures.