This is a record of the latest Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) board meeting held on 17 January 2023. It has been a very busy few months for the MHRA since the last Board meeting.
This time, general attendees witnessed more of the same self-congratulatory love-ins as in November. Chairman Stephen Lightfoot reluctantly acknowledged that the MHRA is not independent, but is accountable to the executive branch of government in the form of the Department of Health and Social Care. It is clear that the UK medicines regulator is undergoing an identity crisis. Is the MHRA a regulator or an enabler? Who owns the regulator?
CEO Dame June Laing quietly acknowledged the government funding, hoping to go unnoticed. Epidemic Prevention Innovation Coalition (CEPI) and gates foundation Being able to “fund the pandemic” was important. If you're a reader of the UK Column website, you probably already knew a lot in the spring of 2020.
But what was the money needed for? It may be time for another Freedom of Information request. If you blink, you might miss it. For subscribed UK Column viewers, this clip was shown exclusively in the first 10 minutes of UK Column News Extra. January 18th episode.
