From left: Swissmedic’s Jürg Schnetzer and MHRA’s Dr Ian Hudson
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and its Swiss counterpart Swissmedic have pledged to improve international collaboration in addressing product safety concerns.
The two regulatory agencies signed a memorandum of understanding at the Summit of the Heads of Medicines Regulatory Agencies, hosted by Swissmedic in Interlaken, Switzerland earlier this week.
Agreeing to support each other’s regulatory frameworks, requirements and processes as well as share information – the topic of this year’s summit – the two bodies look to lead the way in creating a more collaborative approach to international public health.
As part of the deal, the MHRA and Swissmedic will unite in combatting safety challenges in medicines, medical devices, and components for transfusion, such as the globalisation of therapeutic products research and production, and the increasing complexity of scientific and technological developments.
MHRA chief executive Dr Ian Hudson, commented: “Part of our commitment to protecting the health of UK citizens is by creating close ties with international counterparts.
“Through closer collaboration, we can provide a basis for increasing shared initiatives as well as create a foundation for easier information-sharing.
“We operate in a global environment and agreements such as these serve to further strengthen our ability to promote good practices and we look forward to working even closer with our Swiss counterparts.”