Dr Margaret Chan delivers MHRA annual lecture

Dr Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organisation outlined how medicines regulators should continue to work together to support the development of vaccines for Zika virus.

Dr Chan delivered the 11th Annual Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) lecture titled, ‘From health care products to trust and reliance: the expanded role of regulatory authorities in an era of global health perils’, in London last night (1st March).

Dr Chan described how medicines regulators should continue to work together to support the development of vaccines for Zika virus. She recognised the work done by regulators in reacting to the Ebola outbreak, in fast tracking clinical trials for vaccines. This, she believes, has left the world better prepared for future health emergencies.

Dr Chan spoke of the challenges faced by regulators across the world particularly in dealing with these emerging health emergencies and how working together assists those developing vaccines to protect public health. The collaborative mechanisms that brought scientists, national health officials, pharmaceutical companies, and regulatory authorities together during the Ebola response establish pathways that can expedite product development during other health emergencies.

Dr Chan said: “Regulators across the world have shown they can react well when a health emergency develops and can work together effectively to help facilitate the development of new treatments.”

MHRA Chief Executive, Ian Hudson, said Dr Chan “showed how working together we can meet those challenges and facilitate the delivery of life-saving treatments that are needed.”

To find out more about Zika virus, visit the WHO online Zika fact sheet.  

The March issue of The Biomedical Scientist features an in-depth look at the virus, with an editorial from Ian Collacott on the history of Zika, the current outbreak, and the difficulty of establishing its links to other diseases.