New Delhi, July 30 -- Dr. Vinay Prasad, a top regulator at the US Food and Drug Administration, has resigned in less than three months in the job following a controversy over the handling of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.'s gene therapy.

"Dr. Prasad did not want to be a distraction to the great work of the FDA in the Trump administration and has decided to return to California and spend more time with his family," a report by CNN quoted a spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services.

In May, Prasad, a hematologist and oncologist was appointed head of the FDA's Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research, granting him authority over vaccines and biological medicines. Subsequently, he was also appointed the FDA's chief medi...