MHRA’s new Chief Safety Officer, Dr Alison Cave, starts vital vigilance work today

Today, Dr Alison Cave will commence as Chief Safety Officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) where she will oversee the Agency’s vigilance work – helping ensure the safety of medicines and devices that reach the UK public and health service.

Dr Cave, who holds a PhD and has a wealth of regulatory and biomedical scientific knowledge and experience, was most recently Industrial Strategy Challenge Director at UK Research and Innovation where she led two major heath data-driven challenges representing over £285m of government investment. During her extensive career, Dr Cave also worked at King’s College London, the Wellcome Trust and both the MHRA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive, said:

Today is an important day for the Agency and for patient safety. Dr Cave brings with her a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience of managing benefit risk for healthcare products that will inform and strengthen our safety and vigilance functions, together with a track record of delivery of change. Most importantly, I know Alison is determined to be a champion for the patient voice.

We are absolutely delighted to welcome her.

Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer, said:

Today, I start my new role as the MHRA’s Chief Safety Officer where my work will begin immediately.

I am joining at a time in which the scientific, technological and analytical landscape is rapidly changing, and is bringing with it new opportunities to evolve the evidence generation around the benefits and risks of medicines and devices.

I look forward to working with colleagues at MHRA to continue to improve our medicines and devices safety surveillance in the UK and in facilitating the close partnerships with patients and healthcare professionals envisaged by the Cumberlege report.