Moving Forward: How to Transition to Private Sector Careers in Food and Drug Law and Regulation

KALAH AUCHINCLOSS is Principal, Regulatory Compliance and Deputy General Counsel at Eliquent Life Sciences, where she advises clients on compliance, policy, and regulatory issues. She has 15 years of food and drug legal, policy, and regulatory experience at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on Capitol Hill, and in the private sector. Kalah spent six years at FDA, including, as Deputy Chief of Staff for two FDA Commissioners: Dr. Robert Califf and Dr. Scott Gottlieb. As Deputy Chief of Staff, Kalah worked with senior FDA leadership to manage crises, develop policy decisions, implement communications strategies, and liaise with the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House, and other agencies. Kalah was also a primary point of contact in the immediate Office of the Commissioner for the six FDA centers and other components of the Commissioner’s Office. Prior to that role, Kalah spent time on Capitol Hill as an FDA detailee to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, working on the 21st Century Cures Act and other FDA-related legislation. She has also served in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) as a regulatory counsel in the Office of Regulatory Policy, and as Director of CDER’s Office of Unapproved Drugs and Labeling Compliance, leading a team of more than 50 staff working on pharmacy compounding, unapproved drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and other enforcement issues. Before joining FDA, Kalah was an associate at the law firm Foley Hoag LLP, in the firm’s health care practice group. As a Principal at Eliquent, Kalah is continuing her commitment to public health by providing strategic counsel to clients on compliance, enforcement, and policy matters. Kalah holds a BA with honors from Williams College, a JD with honors from Georgetown University Law Center, and an MPH from Harvard University.