From the Maryland Politics blog:

The number two official at the Food and Drug Administration will join the O'Malley administration.

Josh Sharfstein, the agency's Principal Deputy Commissioner would lead the state's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Gov. Martin O'Malley told Sun reporter Hanah Cho that he is "delighted" that he could lure Sharfstein from a high-profile position at the FDA.

O'Malley will make a formal announcement during a press conference DHMH in Annapolis Wednesday morning.

Sharfstein, 41, would replace current DHMH Secretary John M. Colmers. The news was first reported by CQ's John Reichard. A spokesman for Colmers referred calls to the governor's office, as did Sharfstein.

As health secretary, Sharfstein will oversee a $9 billion budget which includes the sprawling Medicaid program. He'll also have a significant role in implementing the Obama health care overhaul, an issue that O'Malley is prioritizing. But his agency could be set for deep cuts, O'Malley will need to slice about $1.5 billion from the next budget.

The change would bring Sharfstein much closer to home: He's a resident of Baltimore's Mount Washington neighborhood and won't have to commute to the FDA's offices on the outskirts of Washington. Plus he's familiar with Maryland politics -- before President Barack Obama tapped him for the FDA, Sharfstein was Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's health secretary.

Most recently Sharfstein was the FDA's front man in its efforts to ban alcohol infused energy drinks like Four Loko. His name is frequently mentioned in the national press, where he's been closely associated with with the federal agency's new tougher stance on enforcement including recalls of pediatric medications and pistachios.