By Ahmed Aboulenein and Puyaan Singh
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) – U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said on Tuesday there had been no decision yet on outgoing vaccine chief Vinay Prasad’s replacement but that he expects an announcement over the coming weeks.
The FDA announced Prasad’s departure as director of its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research last month. Makary at the time said Prasad would leave by the end of April and that a successor would be named by then.
• “The search for the director of the biologic center is going extremely well. We have terrific candidates that so that process is going well,” said Makary.
• “No decision has been reached at this point, but I expect it in the coming weeks,” he added.
• Prasad, an oncologist, was an outspoken critic of U.S. drug and vaccine policies, particularly around COVID-19 mandates, before joining the agency.
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Edward Tobin)
