(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that it had named Scott Steele as acting director of its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, replacing Peter Marks.
Marks, who played a key role in U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term in developing COVID-19 vaccines, will leave effective April 5, according to his resignation letter, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Friday. He had also criticized U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s views on vaccines in the letter.
Steele, who joined the FDA in 2022, was previously senior adviser at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which regulates biological and related products including blood, vaccines, allergenics, tissues, and cellular and gene therapies.
Kennedy, a well-known vaccine skeptic, last week announced plans to reshape federal public health agencies, a move that could involve firing thousands of workers.
Marks became the highest-profile exit at the regulator amid the Trump administration’s health agency overhaul.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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