Catalogue description Records created or inherited by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health, and is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe. It operates as a trading fund.

The MHRA was set up in April 2003 from a merger of the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) and the Medical Devices Agency (MDA).

The agency is committed to safeguarding public health by ensuring that medicines, healthcare products and medical equipment meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, performance and effectiveness, and are used safely. The MHRA also aims to shape the future of medical technologies, from over-the-counter headache tablets to the safety of bedrails to revolutionary drugs in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The MHRA is now based in Victoria, London and has several satellite offices throughout the country.

In April 2013, the MHRA merged with the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) and was rebranded, with the MHRA identity being used for the parent organisation and one of the centres within the group.