Prasad resigned from the FDA in July after backlash over his handling of Sarepta’s Elevidys gene therapy, which faced shipment restrictions following patient deaths before being partially reinstated.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s ally and far-right political activist, Laura Loomer, alleged on Sunday that the rehiring of Vinay Prasad at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) highlighted what she described as political bias in the government’s vetting process, drawing a link to the termination of billionaire pilot Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA.
In a post on X, Loomer said Isaacman’s nomination was blocked “with malice” by staff, noting he is a registered Republican who donated more to Donald Trump than to Democrats and had “never publicly attacked Trump.”
“Vinay Prasad is not only a Democrat donor, but he’s also a Trump hater and he is a Marxist who said Trump is ‘the worse person in the world,'” Loomer posted.
“Isaacman is a registered Republican. And he’s way more accomplished than the Marxist Trojan Horse at the US FDA,” she added. “Just more evidence of a broken vetting system with no standards.”
Prasad, a former UCSF epidemiologist and vocal critic of certain vaccine policies, stepped down on July 30 as head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) after serving in the role for approximately three months.
His resignation followed backlash over the agency’s handling of Sarepta Therapeutics’ Elevidys, the only approved gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In July, Prasad and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary had asked Sarepta to pause shipments of Elevidys after three reported patient deaths, two of which were linked to liver failure.
The move drew criticism from patient advocacy groups and conservative commentators, with The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board calling it a “mugging” that could deter future drug innovation. Conservative influencers, including Loomer, resurfaced Prasad’s past social media posts supporting progressive politicians and criticizing Trump.
The FDA later reversed course, allowing Sarepta to resume shipments to children who can still walk, while maintaining a pause for non-ambulatory patients pending updated safety labeling. Prasad, who had questioned the therapy’s approval, described the treatment as one that “seems to be killing kids” in comments earlier this year.
Prasad was appointed in May to replace Peter Marks, who was removed after policy disagreements with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. During his tenure, Prasad sought to overhaul the FDA’s vaccine approach, including restricting COVID-19 vaccine approvals from Moderna and Novavax to high-risk groups only.
Trump later ordered Prasad’s removal from CBER, overriding opposition from Kennedy and Makary, according to Politico. Following his exit, Makary named George Tidmarsh as acting director.
Meanwhile, Citi raised its price target on Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) to $14 from $12 while maintaining a ‘Sell’ rating, citing a second quarter (Q2) sales beat driven by a Roche milestone payment for Japanese Elevidys approval, gains on strategic investments and an income tax benefit, but warned the Elevidys liver-toxicity overhang remains a risk.
Sarepta’s Q2 revenue rose to $611.1 million from $531.04 million a year earlier, with EPS of $2.02 topping estimates, and the company reaffirmed it is on track for over $100 million in cost savings through 2025 under its July restructuring plan.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Sarepta was ‘bullish’ amid ‘low’ message volume.
Sarepta’s stock has declined by over 85% so far in 2025.
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