By Josh Nathan-Kazis – Barron’s –
Biotech investors seemed to be taking the sudden departure of a top Food and Drug Administration official last month as a good sign for the sector, but increasing turmoil at the FDA could worsen the picture for drugmakers over the coming months.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that Dr. Vinay Prasad, who led the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and was a close ally of FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, had departed less than three months into his role.
The departure came days after conservative commentators launched attacks on Prasad over the FDA’s response to deaths of patients taking Elevidys, a gene therapy from Sarepta Therapeutics that treats Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal and progressive illness.
Sarepta shares were up 15.4% on Wednesday, with Prasad’s departure looking like a victory for the company. Other gene therapy stocks were up, too, including uniQure, up 14.5%, and Rocket Pharmaceuticals, up 11%. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF, which tracks the biotech sector, was up 2.2%.
