Gordon Duff to chair UK’s MHRA

Professor Sir Gordon Duff has been appointed chair of the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and will take over from Sir Alasdair Breckenridge on January 1, 2013.

Sir Gordon joins at a time of increasing responsibility for medicines and medical devices regulator, with the MHRA set to incorporate the work of the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) from April, 2013.

“I'm delighted to be taking on the role of chairman of the MHRA,” said Sir Gordon. “The Agency is growing in responsibility and faces exciting challenges ahead. I look forward to helping the Agency move forward through these times and playing its vital role in improving and protecting public health.”

He currently holds several other chair positions in science and healthcare, including at the MHRA's Commission of Human Medicines and the Department of Health's Scientific Pandemic Influenza Committee.

He is also Lord Florey Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Sheffield and between 2000 and 2009 was chair of the National Biological Standards Board.

In addition to Sir Gordon's appointment, the MHRA also appointed Sir Alan Langlands, Deborah Oakley and Martin Hindle as non-executive directors, replacing Lisa Arnold, Michael Fox and Sir John Lilleyman.

Sir Alan is chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England and chair of the Health Foundation; Oakley is non-executive board member at the Health Protection Agency and a board member of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust; and Hindle is chair of University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and non-executive director and chair of the Finance Committee at the Health Protection Agency.

Outgoing chair Sir Alasdair said: “I'm delighted that Sir Gordon and the non-executive directors have joined the MHRA as they bring a wealth of experience to our board and will play a key role in the leadership of our changing organisation.”