12 Aug 2026
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader adds former FDA OCBQ director Melissa Mendoza to Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology practice
"Hogan Lovells Cadwalader hires former FDA OCBQ director Melissa Mendoza as partner in its Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology practice, adding senior compliance and enforcement expertise on biologics, drugs and devices."
Mendoza is the former director of the Office of Compliance and Biologics Quality (OCBQ) in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In her role directing OCBQ, she led the office’s engagement with industry, Congress, and other federal and state agencies on compliance priorities for biological products, issued warning letters and other compliance actions, and drove the development of enforcement actions for referral to the U.S. Department of Justice. Mendoza served four years as OCBQ director, previously served six years as OCBQ deputy director, and earlier served eight years as an Associate Chief Counsel for Enforcement in the FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel.
Mendoza joins Hogan Lovells Cadwalader as a partner in the Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology practice, bringing senior expertise in compliance and enforcement matters related to biological products, drugs, and devices. She received her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law and her B.A. from Dickinson College, and earlier clerked for the Honorable Judge Patrick L. Woodward of the Appellate Court of Maryland (formerly Maryland Court of Special Appeals).
Her arrival is the latest move by the firm to grow the Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology group, following the return of Xin Tao to the firm from Baker McKenzie, where he was chair of the U.S. Healthcare and Life Sciences Regulatory practice, and the August 2025 joining of Elizabeth Jungman, former chief of staff at FDA.