New shock at the FDA: the head of drug administration fired amid internal crisis

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is going through another period of turbulence. Tracy Beth Hoeg, acting director of the drug center, was fired on Friday and replaced by her deputy, Michael Davis, according to the agency's official website.

This departure comes just days after the replacement of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. Reuters had earlier revealed that Tracy Beth Hoeg was to leave her post amid deep internal tensions within the US health agency.

According to several sources, Marty Makary resigned after weeks of disagreements with influential advisors in the White House and the health sector. These tensions centered on controversial decisions regarding drug approvals and the regulatory handling of several sensitive cases.

To replace Makary, the administration appointed Kyle Diamantas, formerly Deputy Commissioner for Food. Meanwhile, Michael Davis, now acting head of the Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), had been serving as the centre's deputy director for about a year.

These changes are part of a broad restructuring of the FDA since the return of Donald Trump at the presidency. The agency has lost several thousand employees through layoffs and voluntary departures, fueling concerns about its stability and regulatory capacity.

Meanwhile, Karim Mikhail has been appointed acting director of the Center for Biological Product Evaluation and Research (CBER), following the departure of Vinay Prasad last month.

This series of upheavals at the FDA is raising increasing questions in American medical and pharmaceutical circles, as the agency plays a central role in the approval of treatments, vaccines and drugs in the United States.