The pharma industry, Wall Street and former government officials on Monday decried the forced resignation of FDA vaccine regulator Dr. Peter Marks, openly worrying that his exit portends an antiscience shift at the agency.

Vaccine makers were hit particularly hard yesterday, as Marks’ resignation letter alluded to disagreements with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccines. Moderna’s stock dropped 9%, while Vaxcyte’s plummeted 46% (though shares of Vaxcyte were also affected by disappointing results of a vaccine candidate.)

Marks offered his resignation while citing Kennedy’s “misinformation and lies” and an “unprecedented assault on scientific truth” impacting public health.

Dr. Peter Marks, the top vaccine official at the Food and Drug Administration, wrote in a letter that he was resigning from his position.

Steele, who joined the FDA in 2022, was previously senior adviser at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which regulates biological and related products including blood, vaccines, allergenics, tissues, and cellular and gene therapies.

Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine regulator, has resigned, an official at the Department of Health and Human Services said Friday.

Commissioner Marty Makary signed off on the plan to push out the agency’s top vaccine official, Peter Marks, in one of his first acts as chief,

Biotech stocks took a hit after the sudden resignation of Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research