A New “Creature” Emerges
The head of the FDA hires another transgressive from the internet wilds
Yesterday, I listed out what I like to call “the Creatures of the Internet” — personalities, some distinctly unqualified, who have gained positions in the scientific authority space by playing a new technology-focused game, catering to Big Tech players, using Big Tech tools to gain prominence, and embracing cyberlibertarian lines of thinking like those embraced by the libertarians of Silicon Valley.
A new creature just joined the Administration, hired by another creature, Marty Makary, head of the FDA.
This new creature is Vinay Prasad, an oncologist from UCSF. Prasad will be the new Director of the Center for Biologics and Research within the FDA, overseeing the regulation of vaccines, gene therapies, and the blood supply.