My Role with the FDA and Caricature Photo

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MY ROLE AT THE FDA ( FROM THE WEB):

Based on official FDA documents:

• David B. Katague, Ph.D.
• Served as a Chemistry Team Leader
• Worked in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)
• Specifically in the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products

His name appears on multiple FDA approval letters and regulatory documents in the late 1990s–early 2000s, where he:

• Reviewed new drug applications (NDAs)
• Oversaw chemistry and manufacturing quality
• Signed off on approvals for drugs like antibiotics (e.g., Augmentin) 

This places him in a key scientific gatekeeping role, ensuring medications met FDA standards for safety, quality, and consistency before reaching the public.

🧬 WHAT HIS JOB ACTUALLY MEANT

As a Chemistry Team Leader, his responsibilities likely included:

• Evaluating drug composition and stability
• Reviewing manufacturing processes
• Leading teams of FDA chemists
• Advising on whether a drug should be approved, modified, or rejected

This is highly technical, rigorous work, not visible to the public, but absolutely essential to modern medicine.

📍 CAREER CONTEXT

• Active in FDA records roughly 1990s to early 2000s
• Part of the internal scientific workforce rather than leadership
• His signature on documents indicates senior-level responsibility, not entry-level work

Some secondary sources suggest:

• Background in pharmaceutical chemistry
• Prior work in private industry before joining the FDA
• Filipino-American heritage (consistent with the Katague name’s origins)

🌎 WHY HE MATTERS (EVEN IF HE’S NOT FAMOUS)

People like David B. Katague represent a category that rarely gets attention:

The career scientists who quietly determine whether drugs are safe enough for millions of people.

Every FDA-approved medication passes through individuals like him. While names like
David A. Kessler become publicly known, the scientific backbone of the FDA is made up of professionals like Katague.

✍️  REFLECTION 

THERE’S SOMETHING QUIETLY POWERFUL ABOUT A NAME THAT DOESN’T MAKE HEADLINES.

David B. Katague’s story, what little we can see of it, is not one of spotlight or speeches, but of signatures at the bottom of documents that changed lives. Antibiotics approved. Treatments validated. Standards upheld.

No applause. No recognition. Just trust. And perhaps that is the deeper thread connecting the Katague name across continents from Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Philippines to America, to Australia, New Zealand, UK  and beyond:

Not always visible. But always present. Doing the work that matters.

My Photo of the Day: Inside the Sacrada de Familia Cathedral, Barcelona, Spain