Head of FDA's Drug Center Abruptly Resigns

The head of the Food and Drug Administration's drug center abruptly resigned Sunday after federal officials began reviewing "serious concerns about his personal conduct," according to a government spokesperson. Dr. George Tidmarsh, who was named to the FDA post in July, was placed on leave Friday after officials in the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of General Counsel were notified of the issues, HHS press secretary Emily Hilliard said in an email. Tidmarsh then resigned Sunday morning, the AP reports. "Secretary Kennedy expects the highest ethical standards from all individuals serving under his leadership and remains committed to full transparency," Hilliard said.

The departure came the same day that a drugmaker connected to one of Tidmarsh's former business associates filed a lawsuit alleging that he made "false and defamatory statements," during his time at the FDA. The lawsuit, brought by Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, alleges that Tidmarsh used his FDA position to pursue a "longstanding personal vendetta" against the chair of the company's board of directors, Kevin Tang. Tang previously served as a board member of several drugmakers where Tidmarsh was an executive, including La Jolla Pharmaceutical, and was involved in his ouster from those leadership positions, according to the lawsuit.

In September, Tidmarsh drew public attention for a highly unusual post on LinkedIn stating that one of Aurinia Pharmaceutical's products, a kidney drug, had "not been shown to provide a direct clinical benefit for patients." It's very unusual for an FDA regulator to single out individual companies and products in public comments online. According to the company's lawsuit, Aurinia's stock dropped 20% shortly after the post, wiping out more than $350 million in shareholder value. Tidmarsh later deleted the LinkedIn post and said he had posted it in his personal capacity, not as an FDA official. Aurinia's lawsuit also alleges, among other things, that Tidmarsh used his post at FDA to target a type of thyroid drug made by another company, American Laboratories, where Tang also serves as board chair.