The Tamesis
The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s division that regulates prescription and over-the-counter drugs is leaving, a senior FDA official confirmed to CBS News, marking the agency’s latest top-level personnel change.
Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg has served as acting director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) since December, leading an office that reviews new drug applications. She previously advised former FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters first reported the news of Heger’s departure.
Makary In three days, Høeg will be leaving the company Resigned As FDA commissioner, there have been numerous news reports about tensions within the agency, including disagreements over the recent decision to approve flavored e-cigarettes. A person familiar with the matter told CBS News that Macari left the job amid the e-cigarette dispute, adding that the commissioner did not want to approve flavored products but was forced to do so by other members of the administration.
Dr. Vinay Prasad, former head of the FDA’s office responsible for vaccine approval, also said left the agency last month. Prasad Leave the organization briefly last summer, but recovered less than two weeks later.
CBS News previously reported that Høeg’s appointment as CDER chief caused controversy due to her skepticism about vaccines and alarmed senior FDA officials. she Helped write a memo Last year, she linked the deaths of several children to COVID-19 vaccines without providing data to support the claims, and she was involved in a controversial campaign to reduce the number of recommended childhood vaccines.
“Putting Tracy Beth in charge would be like dropping an atomic bomb,” an agency source told CBS News in December.
Høeg acknowledged the effectiveness of some vaccines, including measles vaccine. When she was confirmed, she said she was “committed to transparency, honesty and decision-making based on rigorous science, and ensuring that important change happens effectively.”
