Freedom of Information request on the regulatory approval of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine (FOI 22/453)
Published 31 May 2022
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FOI 22/453
17th February 2022
Dear
Thank you for your email.
The decision to grant a marketing authorisation for the AstraZeneca vaccine was not made by any director at MHRA, nor do they play any part in the decision making regarding the authorisation of specific vaccines.
In your request you state that two MHRA directors are AstraZeneca shareholders. I understand you are referring to two of the MHRA’s Non-Executive Directors who sit on the MHRA Board, whose declarations of interest are published on GOV.UK. I can confirm that one of the MHRA’s current Non-Executive Directors declared shareholdings with AstraZeneca; and another Non-Executive Director who departed from the MHRA Board in August 2021 also declared shareholdings with AstraZeneca. I can confirm that neither of these Non-Executive Directors had any involvement in the approval of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. The Board has no involvement in any regulatory decisions affecting medicines, medical devices or any other products or services delivered by the Agency. These are the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer, supported by the Executive Committee. MHRA Staff members can not hold direct financial interests in the pharmaceutical and healthcare (medical devices) industries.
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Yours sincerely
MHRA Customer Experience Centre