Dr Junaid Bajwa, Professor Graham Cooke, Dr Paul Goldsmith and Raj Long have been appointed as Non-Executive Directors on the Board of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for three years.
In addition, Haider Husain has been appointed as a non-voting Associate Non-Executive Director to add further experience to the Board.
Their terms will come into effect from 1 September 2021 to replace Dr Barbara Bannister MBE, Professor Bruce Campbell, Anne-Toni Rodgers and Professor David Webb CBE whose terms all came to an end on 31 August 2021.
Mandy Calvert, Mercy Jeyasingham MBE and Michael Whitehouse OBE will also continue in their roles as Non-Executive Directors on the MHRA Board until the end of their terms in 2023.
I’m pleased to announce that after a comprehensive search and selection process we have been able to appoint such talented Non-Executive Directors to the MHRA Board. Their appointment brings a wealth of diverse experience and expertise that will add huge value to the strategic leadership of the Agency.
I also want to thank our outgoing Non-Executive Directors for their hard work, commitment and wise counsel over what has been a challenging and high-profile period in the Agency’s history.
Notes to Editors
Dr Junaid Bajwa has a wide range of global digital health experience from a software and pharmaceutical perspective, combined with his ongoing clinical, academic and non-executive experience around the world.
Junaid is the Chief Medical Scientist at Microsoft Research, a practising GP in London, Non-Executive Director at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Non-Executive Director of Nahdi Medical Corporation in Saudi Arabia and a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health in the USA. He was previously an Executive Director in the Digital Centre of Excellence for the global pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme, where he helped shape the global digital strategy of the company and then led the academic and technology partnerships to implement it.
Professor Graham Cooke has extensive experience of international clinical research, innovative clinical trial design, World Health Organisation (WHO) Committees and expert groups.
Graham is NIHR Professor of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College in London and leads the translational infection research within the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre with a particular interest in precision medicines and diagnostics. He has been the Principal Investigator for the REACT study of COVID-19 home testing with over 3 million participants and has been involved in several other COVID-19 studies and expert committees. Graham’s international experience also includes being Chair of the WHO Committee on the Selection & Use of Essential Medicines, which has led to globally recognised recommendations on the use of innovative therapies and antibiotics. Graham’s experience also includes being a founding Principal Investigator in the National Health Informatics Collaborative collecting secondary care data to complement our Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) primary care data and was Convenor of a Clinical Expert Group for the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Dr Paul Goldsmith has a breadth of clinical, drug development, digital health and governance experience, whilst also being a serial innovator who has co-founded 4 healthcare businesses.
He has extensive experience in frontline clinical medicine as a Consultant Neurologist and has held NHS Clinical Networks, Vanguard and Senate roles. He is also President, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder of Closed Loop Medicine Limited, as well as being a Board Member of the MDU Ltd and MDU Investments Ltd, and trustee of the Big Tent Foundation. Paul’s start-up companies have involved disease modelling, drug development, digital automated therapy provision, online cognitive behavioural therapy and drug optimisation by integrating the use of diagnostics, drugs and digital technologies. He has a PhD in developmental biology and has particular interest in applying evolutionary neuroscience insights to the problems of modern life.
Raj Long has considerable experience as a senior international regulatory executive in the pharmaceutical industry, combined with strategic experience as an advisor to the Department of Health & Social Care, European Union, Gates Foundation and World Health Organisation (WHO).
Raj is currently a Deputy Director for safety and pharmacovigilance at the Gates Foundation and also supports the WHO COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing taskforce. Prior to that, Raj was Consultant Advisor to the Chief Scientist of the WHO, as well as being a WHO co-lead on the COVAX Task Force on COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing and supporting other WHO committees, Vice Chair of the World Dementia Council and has provided advice to numerous expert groups and government initiatives such as the G7 Global Action Against Dementia initiative and the Accelerated Access Review with NHS England. In her executive career, Raj held very senior international regulatory roles with responsibility for licensing innovative medicines in global pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis and GE Healthcare.
Haider Husain is an experienced international healthcare IT business leader with a strong technology background and experience of partnership working, combined with his work as a Panel Chair for the British Standards Institute (BSI) and non-executive experience within the NHS.
Haider is the Chief Operating Officer of an international healthcare technology consultancy called Healthinnova Limited, a Non-Executive Director of Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and is the Panel Chair for the Safe and Effective Use of AI in Healthcare at the British Standards Institute. Prior to this, Haider was the General Manager for Caradigm’s European population health management business and has worked for other international companies such as Microsoft, GE Healthcare and Logica.
- These Non-Executive Director appointments are made by Ministers in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Governance for Public Appointments. The regulation of public appointments against the requirements of this Code is carried out by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
- Associate Non-Executive Directors are appointed by the Chair of the MHRA Board to provide additional breadth and depth of experience to enable the Board to achieve its responsibilities, but they do not have any voting rights.
- The appointments are made on merit and political activity played no part in the decision process. However, in accordance with the Code, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public.
- The appointment will involve a time commitment of 2 to 3 days per month. Annual remuneration for the role will be £7,883 for the preparation required and attendance at Board Meetings and Board Committee Meetings.
- More information on the work of the Agency Board can be found on the MHRA’s [Governance page}(https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency/about/our-governance#the-board)
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