Dr. Peter Marks, director of the agency’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, was given the choice to resign or be fired. Marks’ resignation takes effect April 5.
The news of Marks’ forced resignation was first reported Friday by The Wall Street Journal.
“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” Marks wrote in his letter, referring to US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research is responsible for the safety and effectiveness of biological products, including vaccines, allergenic products, blood and blood products, and cellular, tissue and gene therapies.
Marks was instrumental in carrying out Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s Covid-19 vaccine development program. He has overseen the approval of more recent vaccines, including the first influenza vaccine for self- or caregiver-administration, providing a new option for protection against seasonal flu.
Marks’ forced resignation and other recent moves by HHS drew a wave of warnings from health experts.
Earlier this month, HHS asked the CDC to study vaccines and autism, despite strong evidence that vaccines do not cause autism.
Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and Covid-19 response coordinator during the Biden administration, said on X that Marks is a brilliant scientist who “helped usher in scientific rigor and transparency into the FDA.”
Pushing him out makes “the FDA dramatically weaker, less effective,” Jha wrote. “This is not how we make America healthy.”