Controversial FDA vaccine chief to leave agency
Equal justice apparently isn't equal anymore.
The Food and Drug Administration’s head of vaccines and biotechnology drugs, Dr. Vinay Prasad, is leaving the agency as of April, following a series of clashes with the pharmaceutical industry in which he was accused of unfairly blocking or hamstringing approvals.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Prasad would be leaving the agency at the end of March and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary is actively looking for replacements for the position.
A year ago, Dr. Prasad came to the FDA to implement 4 major long-lasting reforms: 2-to-1 pivotal trial requirement, national priority reviews, a risk-stratified covid vaccine framework, & the new plausible mechanism framework for ultra rare diseases which we launched last week.…
— Dr. Marty Makary (@DrMakaryFDA) March 6, 2026
Prasad, whom Makary described last week on CNBC as being “on loan” from the University of California, San Francisco, as a professor, has served as the FDA division chief for reviewing many cancer drugs and gene therapies for rare disease as well as vaccines.
But Prasad has been a source of controversy for the FDA and the Trump administration’s healthcare agenda, most recently over claims that he relay too much information about a denied treatment application.
A few hours before the first report of Prasad’s departure on Friday, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) accused Prasad on X of “disclosing trade secret information without legal authorization” during a press call this week about an experimental drug from the pharmaceutical company uniQure to treat the rare genetic disorder Huntington’s disease.
This 'senior official' was Vinay Prasad. Disclosing trade secret information without legal authorization is a prohibited act under the FDCA & a criminal violation under the Trade Secrets Act.
— Rep. Jake Auchincloss (@RepAuchincloss) March 6, 2026
Multiple outlets reported on Thursday that an FDA official, during a call with reporters, accused uniQure of pushing “distorted” data to mask a “failed” therapy for the rare disease.
On Monday, shares of uniQure plummeted more than 40% after the FDA announced it had rejected its new Huntington’s disease therapy.
HHS declined to comment on the accusation from Auchincloss. The Washington Examiner contacted Prasad for comment.
This is the second time that the Trump administration has announced Prasad’s departure from the agency. He was fired in August by the …
Equal justice apparently isn't equal anymore.
The Food and Drug Administration’s head of vaccines and biotechnology drugs, Dr. Vinay Prasad, is leaving the agency as of April, following a series of clashes with the pharmaceutical industry in which he was accused of unfairly blocking or hamstringing approvals.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Prasad would be leaving the agency at the end of March and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary is actively looking for replacements for the position.
A year ago, Dr. Prasad came to the FDA to implement 4 major long-lasting reforms: 2-to-1 pivotal trial requirement, national priority reviews, a risk-stratified covid vaccine framework, & the new plausible mechanism framework for ultra rare diseases which we launched last week.…
— Dr. Marty Makary (@DrMakaryFDA) March 6, 2026
Prasad, whom Makary described last week on CNBC as being “on loan” from the University of California, San Francisco, as a professor, has served as the FDA division chief for reviewing many cancer drugs and gene therapies for rare disease as well as vaccines.
But Prasad has been a source of controversy for the FDA and the Trump administration’s healthcare agenda, most recently over claims that he relay too much information about a denied treatment application.
A few hours before the first report of Prasad’s departure on Friday, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) accused Prasad on X of “disclosing trade secret information without legal authorization” during a press call this week about an experimental drug from the pharmaceutical company uniQure to treat the rare genetic disorder Huntington’s disease.
This 'senior official' was Vinay Prasad. Disclosing trade secret information without legal authorization is a prohibited act under the FDCA & a criminal violation under the Trade Secrets Act.
— Rep. Jake Auchincloss (@RepAuchincloss) March 6, 2026
Multiple outlets reported on Thursday that an FDA official, during a call with reporters, accused uniQure of pushing “distorted” data to mask a “failed” therapy for the rare disease.
On Monday, shares of uniQure plummeted more than 40% after the FDA announced it had rejected its new Huntington’s disease therapy.
HHS declined to comment on the accusation from Auchincloss. The Washington Examiner contacted Prasad for comment.
This is the second time that the Trump administration has announced Prasad’s departure from the agency. He was fired in August by the …
Controversial FDA vaccine chief to leave agency
Equal justice apparently isn't equal anymore.
The Food and Drug Administration’s head of vaccines and biotechnology drugs, Dr. Vinay Prasad, is leaving the agency as of April, following a series of clashes with the pharmaceutical industry in which he was accused of unfairly blocking or hamstringing approvals.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Prasad would be leaving the agency at the end of March and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary is actively looking for replacements for the position.
A year ago, Dr. Prasad came to the FDA to implement 4 major long-lasting reforms: 2-to-1 pivotal trial requirement, national priority reviews, a risk-stratified covid vaccine framework, & the new plausible mechanism framework for ultra rare diseases which we launched last week.…
— Dr. Marty Makary (@DrMakaryFDA) March 6, 2026
Prasad, whom Makary described last week on CNBC as being “on loan” from the University of California, San Francisco, as a professor, has served as the FDA division chief for reviewing many cancer drugs and gene therapies for rare disease as well as vaccines.
But Prasad has been a source of controversy for the FDA and the Trump administration’s healthcare agenda, most recently over claims that he relay too much information about a denied treatment application.
A few hours before the first report of Prasad’s departure on Friday, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) accused Prasad on X of “disclosing trade secret information without legal authorization” during a press call this week about an experimental drug from the pharmaceutical company uniQure to treat the rare genetic disorder Huntington’s disease.
This 'senior official' was Vinay Prasad. Disclosing trade secret information without legal authorization is a prohibited act under the FDCA & a criminal violation under the Trade Secrets Act.
— Rep. Jake Auchincloss (@RepAuchincloss) March 6, 2026
Multiple outlets reported on Thursday that an FDA official, during a call with reporters, accused uniQure of pushing “distorted” data to mask a “failed” therapy for the rare disease.
On Monday, shares of uniQure plummeted more than 40% after the FDA announced it had rejected its new Huntington’s disease therapy.
HHS declined to comment on the accusation from Auchincloss. The Washington Examiner contacted Prasad for comment.
This is the second time that the Trump administration has announced Prasad’s departure from the agency. He was fired in August by the …
