The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has hired Jason Bonander as its new chief digital and technology officer.
Bonander will join the MHRA in late May from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he was chief information officer, leading global technology and cybersecurity operations, public health informatics and data-sharing strategies.
Bonander said he is "excited to join the MHRA and work with colleagues across the agency and the ecosystem to strengthen digital and data capabilities that make regulation more agile, insight-driven and responsive, accelerating access to safe and effective products while maintaining the highest standards of public trust".
“Throughout my career I’ve seen how modern digital capabilities can transform how institutions serve the public," he added. "The MHRA sits at the heart of a complex health and life sciences ecosystem –protecting patients while enabling innovation."
The MHRA, an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care which is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK, said Bonander will strengthen its "leadership expertise in health data and technologies as it gets ready to deliver a new five-year strategy, modernising regulation to ensure it is fit for the future".
The agency also said he will "play a critical role" in modernising its "portfolio of services and platforms, supporting faster, more efficient and more transparent regulation".
And it said the hire supports the agency's ambition to "remain a world-leading regulator through data-driven regulation of medicines, AI and advanced technologies, enabling innovation while maintaining robust regulatory standards".
Lawrence Tallon, the MHRA's chief executive, said Bonander brings "deep experience from one of the world’s leading health regulatory authorities, operating at the intersection of technology, data and public health".
"His leadership will be critical as we modernise the MHRA’s systems and services to support faster, more efficient and more data-enabled regulation," he added.
MHRA chair Professor Anthony Harnden, said Bonander's "proven track record will be invaluable in taking forward our work to protect and promote public health, ensuring people have confidence in their medicines and healthcare products".
Bonander was one of a handful of top officials at the CDC who was reportedly told last year that, as part of cuts across US government health care agencies, they would be transferred to the Indian Health Service – the principal federal health care provider and health advocate for Native people in the US. According to the report in Politico, Bonander and other senior colleagues were told they would need to join offices in rural states far from their current homes.