Vinetta Howard-King Acting Deputy Associate Commissioner for Medical Products (DACMP)
As Acting Deputy Associate Commissioner for Medical Products, Vinetta Howard-King brings more than 35 years of FDA operations experience to her role. She leads the Medical Products Inspectorate (MPI), which oversees inspection activities for pharmaceuticals, clinical research, biologics, medical devices, and emerging manufacturing technologies both in the United States and internationally. She also oversees the medical products international engagement program which includes Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) and Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) activities. Through her leadership, MPI's team of nearly 900 staff across six specialized inspection programs works to ensure the safety and quality of medical products available to the American public.
Ms. Howard-King’s recent work has focused on strengthening the FDA's global oversight capabilities. In 2025, she engaged in strategic discussions across FDA medical product centers to increase unannounced foreign inspections in response to the Commissioner's directive, enhancing the agency's ability to protect public health. These discussions were precursors to more detailed collaboration between MPI and medical product centers. Ms. Howard-King is also leading MPI’s effort to meet increasingly complex global inspection demands through modernizing training and IT processes, hiring and retention, enhancing efficiency, and positioning MPI to better align with FDA strategic goals.
Before her current role, Ms. Howard-King served as Acting Director for the Office of Field Operations and Response, where she guided senior leaders on inspectorate policies, field enforcement, tobacco and cosmetic oversight, emergency preparedness and response, complaint management, and quality systems.
Prior to that, Ms. Howard-King directed the Office of Human and Animal Food Operations – East, managing operations across six field divisions and the office's foreign inspection program. In this position, she worked closely with headquarters and field leadership to implement strategic, risk-based approaches to compliance and enforcement that delivered measurable results.
Ms. Howard-King’s FDA career has included multiple other roles that have built her comprehensive understanding of the Agency's operations. She has served as senior advisor to the Assistant Commissioner for Operations, deputy director and staff manager in the Office of Emergency Operations, compliance officer in the Baltimore District, and chemist in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Throughout her tenure, she has taken on acting leadership positions including lab supervisor, district director, deputy office director, office director, and regional food and drug director.
Ms. Howard-King earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Coppin State University. Her contributions to the FDA's mission have been recognized through numerous honors and awards.