Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., the former head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), has joined Eli Lilly as senior vice president of molecule discovery and head of infectious disease, a company spokesperson confirmed to Fierce Biotech.
Marks served as CBER chief for nearly a decade until butting heads with Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy. Under RFK Jr.’s HHS, Marks was forced out earlier this year, with his last day being April 5.
“Lilly continually evaluates breakthrough science which could benefit patients. Peter's expertise strengthens our abilities across multiple areas, both in our existing portfolio and in our work in emerging areas,” the spokesperson said.
Early in the new Trump administration, Marks’ disagreements with RFK Jr. over vaccines led to his departure in what was possibly the most high-profile FDA exit of the year. In his resignation letter (PDF), Marks wrote that he hoped the “unprecedented assault on scientific truth” would end “so that the citizens of our country can fully benefit from the breadth of advances in medical science.”
During his time at the FDA, Marks advocated for the agency’s accelerated approval pathway for rare diseases and gene therapies, and he played a critical role in the speedy advancement of COVID-19 vaccines in response to the pandemic.
Marks’ jump to a Big Pharma company that he used to regulate is the latest example of the revolving door between government and industry, which has frequently set ethical alarm bells ringing. For example, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., snagged a spot on Pfizer’s board of directors just three months after leaving his government post in 2019.
A couple months before Marks left the FDA, his counterpart at the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., resigned and eventually ended up at Pfizer, where she serves as chief medical officer and executive vice president.
A frequent critic of this revolving door is Marks’ replacement Vinay Prasad, M.D. In response to a July 2024 investigation that found FDA staffers are often advised on how to skirt lobbying prohibitions when they leave federal service, the now-CBER director posted his disapproval on X last year.
“FDA is broken. Peter Marks is approving Gene Therapies that don't work, & the revolving door to Pharma is spinning so fast it hits you in the ass,” Prasad wrote.