Fda’s Top Vaccine Official Leaves Post After Less Than Four Months

The apical vaccine charismatic astatine nan US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Vinay Prasad, has near nan national agency little than 4 months aft being appointed arsenic nan caput of nan section overseeing biologic products for illustration blood, vaccines, and cellular and cistron therapies, a authorities spokesperson has said.

Prasad, an oncologist and a professor of epidemiology, biostatistics and medicine astatine nan University of California, San Francisco, had antecedently criticized nan FDA.

He was a fierce critic of US Covid-19 vaccine and disguise mandates and, successful nan 2nd Trump administration, he was controversially appointed arsenic nan head of nan FDA’s halfway for biologics information and investigation successful May.

“Dr Prasad did not want to beryllium a distraction to nan awesome activity of nan FDA successful nan Trump administration and has decided to return to California and walk much clip pinch his family,” a spokesperson from nan Department of Health and Human Services told Reuters successful an emailed connection connected Tuesday evening. Endpoints News first reported Prasad’s departure.

The authorities gave nary specifications astir nan logic for his departure but he had fierce critics connected some sides of nan governmental aisle and nan Washington Post reported, citing unnamed sources, that he had been ousted amid protests by blimpish voices, pinch nary consequence from Prasad to requests for comment.

His exit came aft a number of different regulatory actions, including those taken precocious by nan agency connected Sarepta Therapeutics’ cistron therapy, Elevidys.

“Unprecedentedly, location were aggregate property leaks from nan FDA, negatively impacting [the drug’s] credibility,” said Kostas Bilouris, BMO Capital Markets analyst.

During Prasad’s short stint successful post, nan FDA constricted nan usage of Covid-19 vaccines and declined to o.k. therapies from biotech companies Replimune, which sought nan greenish ray for a curen for precocious melanomas, and Capricor Therapeutics’ curen for a shape of muscular dystrophy.

The regulator’s decisions nether Prasad raised concerns that he was anti-patient choice, Jefferies expert Roger Song said, adding that investors will spot his departure arsenic a affirmative for cistron therapy and vaccine makers.

Biotech stocks had plunged astatine nan news of Prasad’s assignment successful May. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index had declined 7% then, but later recovered. Shares of Replimmune roseate 58%, Sarepta was up 11.2% and Capricor added 21.2% successful premarket trading connected Wednesday.

Prasad besides held nan further domiciled of nan agency’s main aesculapian and subject officer, to which he was appointed past month, according to STAT News.

Nominating a much seasoned charismatic to switch him could thief nan FDA rebuild its credibility, Bilouris said.