Professor Anthony Harnden appointed as the new Chair of the MHRA

Professor Anthony Harnden has been appointed as the new Chair of the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Anthony is a Professor of Primary Care in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, having first joined the department in 1992. Until the end of December 2024, he is a registrant Council member of the General Medical Council and Chair of the Renumeration Committee. Anthony was a General Practitioner for 33 years in Wheatley, Oxfordshire and worked for the NHS for 40 years. He was also previously Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and played a key role in ensuring public trust and patient safety during the distribution of the Covid vaccine.

He succeeds former MHRA chair Stephen Lightfoot, who served from September 2020 and stepped down in 2023.

The chair will play a key role in driving forward the strategic direction of MHRA to maintain the UK as a global centre of excellence in life sciences, in the best interests of patients and the public.

Health Minister, Karin Smyth, said: 'I am delighted to welcome Anthony, who brings a wealth of regulatory and healthcare experience. The MHRA plays a vital role in ensuring the safe use of medicines, medical devices and blood transfusions across the UK and I look forward to working with Anthony as we reform our health service and make it fit for the future.'

Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive, said: 'We are delighted to welcome Prof Anthony Harnden as our new Chair. Anthony brings with him a wealth of experience from across the healthcare sector and academia that will be invaluable when advising on the strategic direction of the Agency to protect and promote public health.

'I would also like to say an enormous thank you to Amanda Calvert, Michael Whitehouse OBE and Professor Graham Cooke for their sterling work co-chairing the MHRA board on an interim basis since July 2023.'

Professor Anthony Harnden, said: 'It is a great honour and privilege to be appointed by Ministers to be the next MHRA Chair. I am looking forward to making a contribution to the future successes of the organisation.

'I will use my experience in healthcare and regulation to help the MHRA deliver its strategic priorities – keeping patients safe and enabling timely access to new medicines and technologies.'

Professor Sir Aziz Sheikh, Head of Department, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, said: 'Anthony is a fantastic choice to Chair the MHRA as he brings a wealth of clinical, academic and regulatory expertise to the role. He is widely respected, not least because of the vitally important role he played in serving as Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Anthony’s open, inclusive and transparent approach to leadership will prove invaluable in developing the strategic direction of  the MHRA to ensure that it remains a thought leader in enabling the life sciences to promote public health.'