The FDA’s vaccine chief is set to leave the agency by the end of April, a spokesperson with the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to ABC News.
Dr. Vinay Prasad, the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), had made decisions in recent weeks that prompted concern in the pharmaceutical industry. Last month his department had opted not to review an application for a new mRNA flu vaccine from pharmaceutical company Moderna. Moderna later re-submitted the application under different age parameters.
Last year, Prasad announced he was stepping down after criticism from right-wing influencer Laura Loomer. He was later invited back to his position by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In a post on X on Friday evening, Makary wished Prasad well and said he would return to an academic role at the University of California San Francisco, from which he had taken a one-year sabbatical.
“I want to thank him for his service and personal sacrifice to take time away from his family,” Makary said in the post.
The move comes after recent staff turnover at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well. Last month, the agency lost its acting director and is now being headed by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya alongside his current duties leading the National Institutes of Health.