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Press release
| Date: | 23 November 2009 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 11:30 |
| Contact: | Press Office 020 3080 7651/ 3166
or press.office@mhra.gsi.gov.uk Out-of-hours 07770 446 189 |
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Appointments Commission are pleased to announce the appointment and reappointment of members to the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM).
The CHM is an independent body that works closely with the MHRA, advising UK health ministers on the regulation of medicines.
Commencing 1 November 2009, the new appointments are:
Mrs Alison Bowser is currently a quality practice award assessor for the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and a quality and outcomes framework lay assessor in Cornwall. She has recently been appointed the position of lay member of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) Quality and Outcomes Framework Indicator Advisory Panel and is a lay member on the NICE Medicines Adherence Guideline Group.
Mrs Bowser has also established herself as an independent consultant sharing advice on improving patient engagement and improving medicines adherence.
Previously, Mrs Bowser was the chief executive officer of the Acne Support Group and has used her experience within this field to campaign for better information on medicines via the ‘Always Read the Leaflet’ initiative and the Patient Information Expert Advisory Group to the MHRA.
Dr J Colin Forfar is currently a consultant cardiologist and physician at the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust and is an honorary senior lecturer in the department of medicine at Oxford University.
He is also a member of the British Cardiovascular Society and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in both London and Edinburgh.
Dr Forfar previously chaired cardiac services at Oxford from 1998 to 2004 and chaired a working group on the cardiac safety of antipsychotic drugs in 2003. He has served as a member of the Committee on Safety of Medicines between 1999 and 2005 and as deputy chair of the CHM’s Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Renal Medicines expert advisory group from 2005 to 2009.
Professor Rosalind Louise Smyth is head of the school of reproductive and developmental medicine and professor of paediatric medicine at the University of Liverpool. She is director of the National Institute for Health Research’s Medicines for Children Research Network and chair of the CHM’s Paediatric Medicines Expert Advisory Group. She is a fellow and a council member of the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences, a member of the Wellcome Trust’s Clinical Interview Committee and a member of the board of directors of the Public Library of Science.
Professor Simon Hugh Lynton Thomas is currently a consultant physician in general medicine and clinical pharmacology at Newcastle Hospital’s NHS Foundation and professor of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics at Newcastle University.
In addition, he is the Medical Director at the Regional Drug and Therapeutics Centre and director of the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS). He also serves as Chair of NPIS Clinical Standards Group and president elect of the European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists.
Professor Thomas has previously been a member of the Commission on Human Medicines Pharmacovigilance Expert Advisory Group and also has membership to a number of organisations including the European Medical Agency expert panel, Misuse of Drugs (MOD) Advisory Group on Special Medical Counter measures and MOD’s Research Ethics Committee.
The following members have been reappointed, commencing 1 November 2009:
Professor Deborah Ashby OBE
Dr Barbara Bannister
Professor Janet Darbyshire OBE
Dr Michael Donaghy
Ms Amanda Hoey
Emeritus Professor Martin Kendall OBE
Professor B Kevin Park
Professor Munir Pirmohamed
Dr Angela Thomas
Professor Roger Walker
Professor Faith Williams
Professor Ian Weller
Professor Thomas, Professor Smyth, Dr Forfar, Dr Thomas and Professor Pirmohamed have been appointed for a four-year term and Professors Kendall and Williams have been appointed for a two-year term. All other appointments have been made for a three-year term commencing 1 November 2009.
These appointments are not remunerated, however a fee of £275 per meeting is paid to cover preparation and attendance together with any travel and accommodation costs.
All appointments are made on merit. Political activity plays no part in the selection process. In accordance with the original Nolan Recommendations there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if declared) to be made public.
The appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice.
Notes to Editor
1. Details of the Commission on Human Medicines can be found on our website.
2. Details of the Appointments Commission (external link) are available on their website.
3. Details of the Nolan Recommendations can be found on the Commissioner for Public Appointments (external link) website.
4. The MHRA is the government agency responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work, and are acceptably safe. No product is risk-free. Underpinning all our work lie robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits to patients and the public justify the risks. We keep watch over medicines and devices, and take any necessary action to protect the public promptly if there is a problem. We encourage everyone – the public and healthcare professionals as well as the industry – to tell us about any problems with a medicine or medical device, so that we can investigate and take any necessary action.
Press release: New appointments to the Commission on Human Medicines 
