President Donald Trump is set to fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with his plans.
The departure of Makary would bring an end to the stormy tenure of the former Johns Hopkins surgeon, who first drew attention with his criticism of vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, pushing back on the use of masks by children to reduce the spread of the virus.
Trump’s plan to dump Makary isn’t finalized and that the President could change his mind, according to WSJ.
Makary recently drew the ire of Trump with his reluctance to endorse fruit-flavored vaping products. On Tuesday, the FDA relented and authorized 45 types of e-cigarettes.
Makary has been on the hot seat since he was confirmed in March of last year as he took over an agency that was being gutted by layoffs. The FDA has seen unprecedented turnover during Makary’s 14 months in command.
Last month, formerly longtime FDA oncology chief, Richard Pazdur, M.D., who resigned after serving as director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) for just a month, lamented the loss of expert voices at the agency and warned of political influence that has “seeped into regulatory decision-making.”
Another example of agency turnover is the recent departure of Vinay Prasad, M.D.—his second in eight months—as the director for the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) amid controversies over several cell and gene therapies for rare diseases.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond immediately for a request for comment.
Makary has been a target of criticism for the agency’s inconsistent drug reviews and policies surrounding abortion. In November of last year, hundreds of industry leaders signed a letter to Makary urging for more predictability and questioning the FDA’s ability to function.
This week, more harsh scrutiny fell on the FDA for blocking the publication of COVID and shingles vaccine studies which found that side effects from the shots were “very rare,” according to The New York Times.
