The top vaccine official at the Food and Drug Administration has been forced out of his job by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Stock prices in major vaccine companies fell after Dr. Peter Marks' resignation. The longtime FDA official was reportedly told he could either quit or get fired, the New York Times reported.
Marks led the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which monitors the safety of certain pharmaceutical products including vaccines and gene therapies. He played a critical role in Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration's effort to rapidly develop a COVID vaccine.
In his resignation letter, Marks accused HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of damaging public health with "misinformation and lies," citing the measles outbreak in Texas, which has killed two, as an example.
Marks said he was "willing to work" with Kennedy on addressing vaccine safety, but "it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary."
Kennedy's criticism of vaccines was the main point of contention during his Senate confirmation hearing, but he overcame skepticism from the GOP to become the nation's top public health official. The Secretary has since taken steps to scrutinize vaccines, part of a wider shakeup of the HHS that saw Kennedy fire 10,000 workers last week.
"If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy," the HHS said in a statement.
Marks played a prominent role in the rapid development of the COVID vaccine as part of "Operation Warp Speed" under President Trump. Marks later got the FDA to approve the shots on an emergency basis for children under five during President Biden's COVID vaccine push.
According to the New York Times, Marks' aggressive lobbying for experimental treatments faced skepticism within the FDA, including from his own vaccine team. He clashed with two top vaccine regulators who quit in protest of the Biden administration's politicized push to quickly authorize COVID booster shots.
Marks overruled his own FDA staff to approve a gene therapy for a form of muscular dystrophy, despite the drug failing a clinical trial.
In his resignation letter, Marks blasted Kennedy Jr. for undermining public confidence in science.
“Undermining confidence in well-established vaccines that have met the high standards for quality, safety and effectiveness that have been in place for decades at F.D.A. is irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety and security," he wrote.
The news of Marks' resignation led to concern among pharmaceutical lobbyists, Politico reported.
“Have had two CEOs call me already,” a Republican pharmaceutical lobbyist texted the outlet. "This is why [Sen. Bill] Cassidy should have voted NO.”
