Dr Ian Hudson appointed as the MHRA’s new Chief Executive
The Department of Health has today announced the appointment of Dr Ian Hudson as Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The MHRA regulates medicines and medical devices to ensure that they work and are acceptably safe for patients. The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and it incorporates the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) – a world-class e-health research service - and the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NISBC).
Dr Hudson is currently the MHRA’s Licensing Director, responsible for the majority of medicines licensing activities. He is the UK delegate to the Committee on Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) at the European Medicines Agency and has been its vice-chairman since October 2012. He will take up the post in September when Sir Kent Woods steps down after ten years with the Agency.
Lord Howe, Health Minister said:
I am delighted to welcome Dr Hudson to his new role. The MHRA carries out vital work to protect the health and well-being of people by ensuring medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe.
Dr Hudson is used to working to the highest possible standards and maintaining the very toughest scrutiny over a fast-moving industry and I am confident he will find this role a deeply rewarding challenge.
Dr Hudson said:
I’m delighted to be appointed to the role of Chief Executive. The MHRA plays a critical role in ensuring that medicines and medical devices help people and are acceptably safe; we support research and development; and protect and promote the health of millions of people through our activities.
Sir Kent has led the MHRA very effectively and has developed it into one of the leading medicines and medical devices regulators in the world. I am proud to have been selected to succeed him in the autumn.
The MHRA’s Chairman, Sir Gordon Duff said:
Dr Hudson has excellent, broad experience across all aspects of medicines regulation and is ideally placed to lead the MHRA, which is unique in bringing together medicines and medical devices regulation together with world-class research facilities and expertise.
Background
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Dr Ian Hudson is a physician who practiced as a pediatrician for a number of years before working in the pharmaceutical industry in clinical research and development between 1989 and 2001, when he joined the MCA (Medicines Control Agency) as Director of the Licensing Division. He is the CHMP (Committee for Human Medicinal Products) delegate for the UK.
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Sir Kent Woods worked as a physician in the NHS for 30 years before taking up the post of Chief Executive at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in January 2004, having been Director of the NHS Health Technology Assessment Programme from 1999 to 2003. He trained at Cambridge, Birmingham and Harvard School of Public Health and held a personal chair in Therapeutics at Leicester University until the end of May 2013. Sir Kent Woods will continue as Chair of the Management Board of the European Medicines Agency.