Prasad returns as head of CBER

Vinay Prasad is returning to his role overseeing vaccine, gene therapy and blood product regulation at the FDA, less than two weeks after leaving the agency.

Prasad will resume leadership of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), at the FDA’s request, an HHS spokesperson told media outlets.

Prasad, after less than three months as CBER director, resigned in late July, with HHS sources claiming he did not want to distract from the “great work of the FDA in the Trump administration” and that he opted to spend more time with his family.

During his brief tenure at CBER, Prasad limited the use of COVID vaccines and highlighted warnings about a rare cardiac side effect of the shots. He also became tangled in a public dispute with Sarepta, after the company refused to halt shipments of Elevidys following an FDA request that cited recent patient deaths.

Prasad’s pushback on Elevidys recently made him the target of right-wing outrage, with far-right political activist Laura Loomer launching an anti-Prasad social media campaign claiming, “A wolf in sheep’s clothing is sabotaging President Trump’s bold Make America Healthy Again agenda!” and a WSJ opinion piece calling Prasad a “Bernie Sanders acolyte” and lambasting him for not trusting patients to make their own health care decisions.