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The US Food and Drug Administration’s lead drug regulator, George Tidmarsh, resigned two days after being placed on administrative leave over personal conduct concerns, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Tidmarsh was appointed in late July to be the director of the Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research. He didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from Bloomberg News.
In an interview with the New York Times, Tidmarsh said he was placed on leave after he raised concerns over the legality of a programme to speed up approval of some new drugs, which he believed “injected politics into the drug review programme.”
The agency placed Tidmarsh on administrative leave on Friday after the Office of the General Counsel and the Office of Inspector General were notified of “serious concerns about his personal conduct,” an HHS spokesperson said.
On Sunday morning, Tidmarsh resigned, effective immediately, the spokesperson said, noting that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “expects the highest ethical standards from all individuals serving under his leadership.”
The department’s concerns were related to a September LinkedIn post where Tidmarsh criticised the FDA’s 2021 approval of voclosporin, which is marketed under the name Lupkynis and is used to treat lupus nephritis, according to two people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorised to speak publicly.
The post — which Tidmarsh later deleted — prompted shares of the drug’s maker, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. to drop sharply after his comment.
Tidmarsh previously served as chief executive officer of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., whose then-chairman now serves as chair of Aurinia. Tidmarsh left La Jolla in 2019 “to pursue other interests,” according to a statement at the time.
Read Also: Trump says there 'could be' US troops on the ground in Nigeria; West African nation rejects threats
Tidmarsh was appointed in late July to be the director of the Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research. He didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from Bloomberg News.
In an interview with the New York Times, Tidmarsh said he was placed on leave after he raised concerns over the legality of a programme to speed up approval of some new drugs, which he believed “injected politics into the drug review programme.”
The agency placed Tidmarsh on administrative leave on Friday after the Office of the General Counsel and the Office of Inspector General were notified of “serious concerns about his personal conduct,” an HHS spokesperson said.
On Sunday morning, Tidmarsh resigned, effective immediately, the spokesperson said, noting that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “expects the highest ethical standards from all individuals serving under his leadership.”
The department’s concerns were related to a September LinkedIn post where Tidmarsh criticised the FDA’s 2021 approval of voclosporin, which is marketed under the name Lupkynis and is used to treat lupus nephritis, according to two people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorised to speak publicly.
The post — which Tidmarsh later deleted — prompted shares of the drug’s maker, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. to drop sharply after his comment.
Tidmarsh previously served as chief executive officer of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., whose then-chairman now serves as chair of Aurinia. Tidmarsh left La Jolla in 2019 “to pursue other interests,” according to a statement at the time.
Read Also: Trump says there 'could be' US troops on the ground in Nigeria; West African nation rejects threats
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