No Successor Yet Named For Head of UK Medicines Agency

As the deadline date for the UK withdrawal from the EU rapidly approaches, no successor has yet been named to take the place of the head of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Late last fall, Dr. Ian Hudson announced that he will resign his position as CEO of the MHRA. Dr. Hudson has served as CEO of the watchdog agency since 2013 with much of his current role including serving as the UK delegate to the Committee on Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) at the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Indeed, Dr. Hudson has been the Vice-Chairman of CHMP since October 2012.

Dr. Hudson does not appear to be leaving for a particular employment alternative, rather, he stated, “I feel the time is right for a new person to guide the agency and our work through its next phase, following the UK’s departure from the European Union next year.” The resignation will take effect in September 2019, about six months after the UK leaves the EU.

With only two months to go before the March 29, 2019 Brexit date, there remains no deal in sight. According to its long-term Brexit plan, MHRA is moving forward with preparing for the possibility of a hard Brexit.

MHRA Post-Brexit

If the UK exits the EU without a deal which includes provisions for a relationship with the European Medicines Agency, the MHRA will lose access to all EU regulatory networks and will serve as a standalone drug regulator – handling all responsibilities that are currently overseen by the EMA, such as drug approvals, general oversight of medicines, and clinical trials. The MHRA has released some proposed arrangements for regulation in the case of a no-deal scenario.

The resignation of Dr. Hudson and the search for a successor to guide the agency adds a yet another layer of uncertainty as to the future of the MHRA in the aftermath of Brexit.

As the March 2019 UK withdrawal date approaches, we at Contracts Associates will continue to provide updates on our blog in relation to the impact of Brexit on existing appointments of UK entities as EU legal representatives as well as recommended revisions to UK informed consents, once the UK is no longer subject to the EU GDPR.