Chairman’s update

It was good to see over 50 of you at the AGM/MHRA meeting on 20th March.  For those of you who were unable to be at the AGM, please do take the time to read my review of 2011 in the Members area of the website.

So far, I have had one volunteer to assist Mike Breese with the revision of Monograph 3 (Elements and Philosophy of Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance) and two volunteers to help initiate a revision of Monograph 4 (Good Distribution Practice), but more volunteers would be appreciated.  If you are interested, then please contact me via chairman@pqg.org

I was delighted at the AGM to be able to award Life Membership to Ashley McCraight and Norman Randall as they stood down from the committee. This was a fitting way to say thank you to both of them who have been fantastic servants of the Group in many ways over a significant number of years.

We were very fortunate to have Mark Birse, Dan Davies, Richard Funnell and Ian Jackson with us from MHRA.  Ian Jackson provided an update on various topics and then we had a session during which they answered 36 questions that had been provided in advance.  Ian’s presentation should be available in the Members area of the website soon and written responses to the questions will follow.  Thanks to all those who participated and special thanks to Neil Wayman for chairing this session.

Are you aware of the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’? This is your opportunity to provide feedback on the regulations overseen by MHRA and suggest improvements, but you need to be quick; the consultation closes on 13th April.  See ‘Latest Pharmaceutical News’ below for more information.

Bookings have opened for our next Group meeting to be held on 16th May. The Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) will significantly impact all aspects of the pharmaceutical supply chain and we are fortunate to have Richard Andrews, who is leading MHRA’s activities on this, as a speaker. Sign up now to attend this and find out more about not only the FMD but also the new EXCiPACT™ scheme for pharmaceutical excipients.

Phil Butson

Chairman