Two centers within the FDA overseeing drug and biologics evaluation and research have lost a combined 354 employees while hiring 244 in fiscal 2026, according to a hiring update from the FDA.
The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research is responsible for ensuring drugs sold in the U.S. are safe and effective, covering both prescription and over-the-counter products. The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research has a similar mandate for vaccines, blood products, and cell and gene therapies. Both centers review new products before they can reach the market.
CEDR lost 261 employees in fiscal 2026 and gained 205, for a net loss of 56. It is an improvement from fiscal 2025, when the center lost 1,219 employees and posted a net loss of 1,093. CBER lost 93 employees and gained 39 in fiscal 2026, for a net loss of 54, compared to a net loss of 224 in fiscal 2025.
The FDA has seen workforce reductions in 2025 and 2026 through multiple rounds of HHS layoffs in an effort to lay off 10,000 full-time employees. That push from the department has led to lawsuits from 19 states and the District of Columbia. The agency’s employee count stood at 16,261 in 2026, down from a high of 20,912 in 2024, according to U.S. Office of Personnel Management data.
The FDA has also seen turnover in its leadership ranks. Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, stepped down in May 2026 amid reported clashes with White House and HHS officials over agency policy decisions; Kyle Diamantas, deputy commissioner for food, has been serving as acting leader. Days later, Tracy Beth Høeg, MD, PhD, CDER’s acting director, was fired after declining to resign, she told The New York Times. Michael Davis, MD, PhD, CDER’s deputy director, is now serving as the center’s acting director — putting CDER under interim leadership at the same time its net staffing has declined.
The hiring update comes as the FDA navigates other recent challenges. The agency retracted its statement linking a cyclospora outbreak to Taylor Farms, which supplies lettuce to Taco Bell, after officials said the original finding was a false positive.
Becker’s has reached out to the FDA and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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