Healthy Skepticism Library item: 18271

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Publication type: Journal Article

Kmietowicz Z
Medicines Control Agency must be more open
BMJ 2003 Jan 18; 326:(7381):119
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/326/7381/119/a

Abstract:

The UK Medicines Control Agency needs to communicate better with the public about the safety of medicines and to become more transparent about the way it operates, says an independent review.

In its report, the National Audit Office has praised the agency for tackling financial pressures, human resources, and technology issues in a changing marketplace. The agency has seen a sharp downturn in the number of applications for innovative chemicals in the past five years, and its services to the public and the pharmaceutical industry have changed in that time from that of simply a licensing authority to an industry adviser and guardian of public health.

However, to fulfil its role of protecting the public, the agency needs to be more “outward looking” and produce information on the safety of medicines tailored directly to the public in a similar way that the Food and Drug Administration in the United States, . . .