FDA’s Prasad Exits Following Political Backlash Over Sarepta (3)

Vinay Prasad, a top regulator at the US Food and Drug Administration, ended his short tenure at the agency after conservative pundits including Laura Loomer and Rick Santorum led a crusade against him over his handling of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s gene therapy.

Prasad and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary asked Sarepta this month to stop shipping Sarepta’s treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Elevidys, following three deaths that were linked to the company’s gene therapies. Sarepta initially refused, then relented, leading to an outcry that the agency had overstepped.

During the back-and-forth, far-right activist Laura Loomer called for Prasad’s ...