Dr Vinai Prasad, a controversial critic of the US Food and Drug Administration, who played his best role in the regulator in May, resigned less than three months later.
“Dr. Prasad doesn’t want to be distracted by the FDA’s great work in the Trump administration, and has decided to return to California to spend more time with his family,” a spokesman for the U.S. Health Service told CNN on Tuesday.
Hematologist oncologist Prasad was appointed head of the FDA’s Center for Biological Evaluation and Research in early May, experiencing vaccines and biological drugs. He was later given the role of FDA’s Chief Medical and Scientific Officer. Like many Trump administration health appointees, Prasad has been a harsh critic of the government’s response and vaccine policy during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prasad’s departure came amid renewed pressure from the White House to let him resign, according to those familiar with the matter given anonymity to explain the internal dynamics.
Rumer took shots of him on her website and social media, publicly attacking him for several days as a “progressive left-wing destroyer” that “damaged President Trump’s FDA.”
Rumer focused on Prasad’s previous social media posts and podcast episodes, where he said he was politically aligned with the liberal politicians and expressed “a bitch” to Trump. Following her post, she has included others including former US Senator Rick Santorum, who called Prasad “the man who destroyed @Potus’ legacy to help patients,” and “Vinai Prasad is Bernie Sanders Akorito from Maha Drug.”
Prasad did not respond to requests for comment. A White House spokesman introduced a request for comment to HHS.
Prasad was defended a few days ago by FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty McCurry. In an interview with Politico, Makary said that Prasad is “the perfect scientist… one of the greatest scientific minds of our generation.”
“We appreciate his service and the many important reforms he has achieved in his time at the FDA,” said an HHS spokesman.
Prasad took on a role in the FDA after becoming a critic of several voices for the agency’s drug approval over the years. In particular, he opposed the decision to approve the drug of Erevidi’s Salepta, a Duchenne muscular dystrophy, claiming there is little evidence that would serve the stalling or reverse symptoms of a rare and fatal genetic disorder.
This month, the FDA requested that Salepta cease shipping the drug after the death of a young Brazilian patient was reported. Just a day before Prasad’s departure, the agency made an incredible reversal, allowing Salepta to resume shipping for certain patients.
Prasad also elicited criticism from former staff and vaccine experts after revealing that an internal memo in May revealed that it overturned FDA scientists on recommendations for two newer versions of the Covid-19 vaccine. The director at the time replied with the recommendations for widespread use of shots. The FDA ultimately approved the vaccine for use in older people and immunocompromised people, but did not advise young Americans without underlying conditions.
