WASHINGTON — Vijay Kumar, acting director of the office that reviews cell and gene therapies at the Food and Drug Administration, is stepping down from his role, according to an email obtained by STAT.
“After careful reflection, I decided the time has come for me to move on,” Kumar wrote. “I discussed with Center and Agency leadership; we mutually decided not to renew my detail.”
Kumar’s departure follows a broader leadership shakeup inside the agency, and a particularly rocky year of turnover in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research where the cell and gene therapy office is housed. CBER Director Vinay Prasad promoted Kumar to director of the Office of Therapeutic Products after pushing former director Nicole Verdun out of the role a little over a year ago. Before that, Kumar was a lead physician in the office.
