FDA suffers a heavy blow, Trump administration cuts public health agency positions, pharmaceutical industry company stock prices drop

On Tuesday, the Trump administration began large scale layoffs in American public health agencies, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) being particularly hard hit. Current and former employees have expressed concern that this decision may have a profound impact on the American pharmaceutical industry and public health regulatory system. Former FDA director Dr. Robert Califf posted on LinkedIn on Tuesday saying, "The FDA that we once knew is no more. Most of the leadership with institutional knowledge and deep experience in product development and safety have been fired." As a result, stock prices of American pharmaceutical companies have plummeted. By the end of Tuesday's trading day, Pfizer Inc. (PFE.US) fell 3.16%, Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK.US) fell 2.5%, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY.US) fell 2.2%, and Eli Lilly (LLY.US) fell 2.5%. Additionally, the biotechnology industry has also been affected, with the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF dropping 3.63%. For a long time, the pharmaceutical industry has relied on a stable and efficient FDA to approve and regulate drugs. However, despite pharmaceutical companies and their lobbying groups expressing support for the government since Trump's re-election in November, the reality of mass layoffs at the FDA has caught them off guard. Dr. Peter Stein, head of the FDA's new drug office, confirmed on Tuesday that he has been removed from his position. Stein revealed in an email to the media that he was offered a "meaningless position," which he chose to reject. Currently, he is on administrative leave, awaiting formal departure. Earlier, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to lay off 10,000 employees at public health agencies, with 3,500 of those coming from the FDA. Stein stated that many employees of the new drug office were included in the layoff list, causing him to feel "very sad". "The FDA has lost many experienced, dedicated, and extremely knowledgeable staff, whose positions are crucial. This loss of personnel will seriously weaken the FDA's core functions," Stein warned, "This is undoubtedly a foolish, thoughtless, and shortsighted decision, with the ultimate losers being the American people. I can only say, this is a 'dark moment' for the American healthcare system, and its impact will be long-term and far-reaching." A few days before the FDA layoff controversy, another senior FDA official, Dr. Peter Marks, announced his resignation. His departure was related to disagreements on vaccine safety issues. Marks stated in his resignation letter that he was willing to communicate with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy about vaccine safety issues, but Kennedy "only wanted obediently to confirm his misinformation and lies". Marks' resignation sparked strong reactions from Wall Street analysts. Cantor Fitzgerald's analyst publicly called on the White House to fire Kennedy on Monday, citing that he is damaging the credibility of the American healthcare system. "Robert F. Kennedy is undermining the leadership of the American healthcare industry," the analyst wrote in the report, "HHS cannot be led by an anti-vaccine, conspiracy theorist, and someone with no professional background." Analyst Eric Schmidt further stated that the pharmaceutical industry has been trying to negotiate with the Trump administration to reach a consensus, but now they realize that the "government has completely abandoned them". HHS has yet to respond with detailed information about the Tuesday layoff notice. However, according to media reports, several senior officials at the National Institutes of Health were dismissed on Tuesday, and there have been personnel cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Former FDA director Califf criticized the layoffs unreservedly in his LinkedIn post, stating, "History will show that this was a huge mistake."