Appointment of FDA critic Vinay Prasad to senior role in agency prompts departures

Vinay Prasad—the controversial head of vaccine regulation at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—has been named FDA chief medical and scientific officer.1 Traditionally separate roles, his new position—in addition to his heading the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research—grants authority across all regulatory centres and expands his influence as a top adviser to FDA commissioner Marty Makary.

Prasad, a haematologist and oncologist, is a longtime critic of the FDA and is known for his negative views of doctors working with the pharmaceutical industry as well as the way clinical trials are conducted. His first appointment to the FDA in May—in a key role that regulates vaccines among other medical products—was controversial given his lack of experience in government and the fact that he was replacing …