CDER Employees Leave FDA in Droves Amid HHS Overhaul

In the first six months of 2025, 385 employees resigned from the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), more than triple the number compared to the same period last year, which saw under 130 resignations13.

During this period, only 18 new employees joined CDER, whereas the center hired nearly 250 new staff in the same timeframe last year1.

The resignations and limited hiring are occurring as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pursues a major restructuring of HHS, targeting up to 10,000 job cuts across the agency, with the FDA projected to lose approximately 3,500 positions1.

The Supreme Court recently upheld the government's authority to proceed with the restructuring, and HHS officially began the layoffs on July 14, 2025, informing impacted employees by email that day marked their last1.

Senior leadership departures continue:
more than half of senior FDA officials have left their positions in the first half of 2025, including high-profile exits at both CDER and CBER divisions4.

Sources:

1. https://www.biospace.com/fda/cder-employees-leave-fda-in-droves-amid-hhs-overhaul

3. https://www.geneonline.com/385-employees-resign-from-fdas-cder-division-in-first-half-of-2025-amid-hhs-overhaul/

4. https://www.biospace.com/fda/acting-cder-head-becomes-latest-in-string-of-fda-leaders-to-leave-agency