The top drug regulator at the Food and Drug Administration resigned on Sunday after it was revealed he undertook a "revenge campaign" against a former colleague, according to a new report.
Dr. George Tidmarsh, who was appointed to lead the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, or CDER, in June 2025, was accused of accepting bribes and defaming a former colleague in a lawsuit from a Canadian pharmaceutical company in Maryland on Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Tidmarsh had previously been put on administrative leave by the Department of Health and Human Services, which is led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on Friday because of “serious concerns about his personal conduct,” according to the report.
“Secretary Kennedy expects the highest ethical standards from all individuals serving under his leadership and remains committed to full transparency,” a HHS spokesperson told WSJ.
The lawsuit accuses Tidmarsh of causing more than $350 million in damages to Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, a company making a kidney drug called voclosporin. The damages stemmed from a LinkedIn post Tidmarsh made, which said the drug had "not been shown to provide a direct clinical benefit for patients." The Journal described the statement as an "unusual" one for someone in Tidmarsh's position to make.
Tidmarsh's statement caused Aurinia's stock to drop by 20%, wiping out more than $350 million in the process, according to the report.
The report adds that Tidmarsh appeared to be going after Aurinia because of a feud with the company's board chair, Kevin Tang. The report indicates that Tang forced Tidmarsh to resign as CEO of a previous drug company before he joined the administration.