Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (UK)

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is a British government [Page 900]agency that is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe. The organization functions in a similar way to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in relation to the safety of medicinal products. The MHRA is an executive agency of the UK Department of Health, and it is fully funded by the British government. The headquarters of the agency are in London.

The origins of the agency stem from the thalidomide drug scandal of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Thalidomide was prescribed to relieve morning sickness in the first few months of pregnancy. However, the drug caused unpredicted serious birth defects. This was partly attributed to ...