Indian-American doctor resigns from FDA job after campaign by right-wing influencer

Dr Vinay Prasad, a vaccine and gene therapy regulator at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has stepped down from his post, just three months into his position, following sustained criticism from right-wing commentators, including influencer Laura Loomer, as per reports.

According to multiple US media outlets, Prasad’s resignation comes after a public campaign accused him of stalling drug approvals for rare diseases, particularly in relation to Sarepta Therapeutics’ gene therapy drug Elevidys. His earlier decision to restrict the drug’s use after reports of related deaths drew widespread attention. Although the FDA later revised its position, allowing limited use among lower-risk patients, Prasad remained at the centre of the storm.

Fuelling the backlash were earlier social media posts in which Prasad identified himself as politically liberal, expressed support for left-leaning figures like Senator Bernie Sanders, and joked about owning a Donald Trump ‘voodoo doll’. Critics claimed his political views may have influenced his regulatory decisions — a charge Prasad has not publicly responded to.

In the wake of these developments, a section of the conservative media branded Prasad as a ‘Bernie Sanders acolyte’, adding to the pressure on the FDA official.

His departure marks a significant moment in the ongoing debate over how personal ideology and public health policy intersect in the regulation of high-risk, high-cost medical treatments.

Who is Vinay Prasad?

Dr Prasad currently serves as the Director of the Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) and Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at the US FDA.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Prasad is a haematologist-oncologist and Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. 

He also runs VKPrasad lab ( at UCSF, which studies cancer drugs, health policy, clinical trials and better decision making. I am the author of over 500 academic articles, which have 14000 citations, and the books Ending Medical Reversal (2015) and Malignant (2020). 

Apart from this, he is also the host of an oncology podcast, a general medical podcast, and an active YouTube channel called VinayPrasadMDMPH with over 1,88,000 subscribers.

Before this, Loomer had also opposed the appointment of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian immigrant, as Trump’s artificial intelligence adviser.