Vinay Prasad
Hematologist-oncologist and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF. Director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research from 2025 to 2026. Writes about cancer drugs, clinical-trial evidence and health policy; co-founder of Sensible Medicine.
Vinay Prasad did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Their wordsIf you use your novel drug with a tried and true backbone- new drug + chemo- it is impossible to know what <new drug> adds.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsIf you have a doctor who says "I've never seen responses this good with chemo alone, ergo new drug must have helped" That doctor needs more education - or should be recruited as your kol depending on your goal.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
The history of the platform and class and the success rate of the platform and class matters.
Their wordsThe history of the platform and class and success rate of the platform and class matters.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 3 days earlier
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Their wordsAI models are heavily biased towards the liberal epicenters that have developed them, and favor liberal answers.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 1st of 2 in this piece
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Their wordsAs model complexity grows, it is very likely that AI will do even better.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 4 days earlier
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Their wordsYet, Brian is correct that for healthy people (or those with common conditions, e.g. HTN) the answer is: genomic knowledge has little to no practical value.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsUltimately, the idea that the human genome is like the letters in a book that tells you how to build and run a person- that analogy has done a lot of damage.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsDNA is a moving, living molecule with 3 dimensional interactions we can scarcely understand. It is nothing like letters in a book.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 5 days earlier
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Their wordsIf a phase 3 clinical trial is positive, as Tao postulates, but humans do not understand the mechanism of action that would be level one evidence to administer a therapy. Every cancer patient on Earth would want it. Every doctor would give it.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsIf AI generates a cancer combination cure that no one understands, but passes a phase 3 randomized control trial, there's not a single cancer patient on Earth who would say no thank you.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsWe have a much deeper understanding than we did a hundred years ago, but we don't know if we have understood 5% or 50% or .05%. . We don't even know what we don't know.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 1 day earlier
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Their wordsMany trials meant to inform the US practice are unethical because the control arm is something we have not done in the US for quite some time- a standard that was already beaten.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsThese are people who believe that they know what works based on mechanistic science and low quality observational studies.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsSuch a randomized study would be imminently important in the United States, where this issue is heavily debated, and neither side has gold standard evidence, but the zealotry side uses bizarre arguments.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 3 days earlier
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Our reading
Their wordsIt's no secret that I think the Nobel prizes misses the mark.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsMy point is just which discoveries matter is ultimately subjective.
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Our reading
Their wordsNobel winners aren't the smartest or best they were smart and also lucky
↗Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughtsdrvinayprasad.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 5 days earlier
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Their wordsOur current systems are ill-equipped to learn from post-market data.