You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello – MHRA Moves In, EMA Moves Out

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is on course to move next year to Canary Wharf, the east London financial district that the European Medicines Agency currently calls home but is being forced to leave as a result of the UK’s decision last June to leave the EU.

The MHRA is due to move from its central London location of Victoria to a new government hub in Canary Wharf in the first half of 2018, according to the agency’s newly published 2016/17 annual report. It is not known yet when, or to where, the EMA will move.

The move appears to be part of a big government cost-cutting initiative that involves moving thousands of civil servants to a modern government hub in Canary Wharf.

The MHRA comprises three centers – the MHRA regulator, the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control – and, according to its latest annual report, it employed around 1,257 permanent full-time equivalent staff last year.

“There is currently no evidence to suggest staff are leaving the agency as result of the planned move” – MHRA

The report notes the move could lead to the loss of key staff “if they perceive they are moving to a less accessible location with inadequate space and facilities, which would cause disruption to the agency's operations.” The MHRA says it is planning to develop “appropriate measures” to mitigate the impact on staff. Its relocation team will develop an internal communications program to keep staff informed.

An MHRA spokesperson told the Pink Sheet that “with the move not expected to happen before mid-next year, there is currently no evidence to suggest staff are leaving the agency as result of the planned move.” The spokesperson added that the agency was pleased to have secured modern new accommodation and that it was “currently seeking feedback from staff on how they may be impacted by the move for consideration by the move project team.” 

An “Accommodation Needs and Vision Project” group has produced a report setting out the agreed “vision” for the agency’s future accommodation and requirements for the move, according to the annual report. This involves having work environments that will be “inspiring and productive, supported by reliable and effective technology, enabling us to choose flexible work-styles,” the MHRA said. “This will enable us to deliver the Agency’s mission, encourage a more inclusive, collaborative and professional culture, and provide the best service to our stakeholders and customers.”

Ugly, Fragmented Offices

The government first announced it would be moving 5,700 full time civil and public servants from their offices in central London to east of the city in December last year. The move, which is due for completion by the end of 2018, is part of a drive to modernize the civil service. “Relocating civil and public servants from existing, often fragmented office locations, to modern, cross-departmental workplaces will make the most of emerging working practices and technology is part of that drive,” the government said. The new hub in Canary Wharf would provide “a better working environment for many London-based Civil Servants at considerably less cost to the taxpayer.” The approach will be replicated across the UK, “putting right the historic mistake of forcing public servants to work in ugly and expensive buildings.”

Germany wants Bonn to have EMA

EU member states wanting to house the EMA post-Brexit – the UK is due to leave the EU at the end of March 2019 – must submit their bids by the end of July. A decision on the new location of the agency is expected in November. (Also see "EU Postpones Decision On EMA’s New Home To November" - Pink Sheet, 23 Jun, 2017.) Perhaps then there will also be some clarity around the timing of its departure from London.

Germany is joining the ranks of those bidding to host the EMA, which currently employs almost 900 people. Germany would house the agency in Bonn. Many countries are competing for the agency in addition to Germany, including Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, France and Spain. The official website for the Bonn candidacy is www.closer-to-europe.eu.

This article was updated with comments from the MHRA on July 20, 2017.

From the editors of Scrip Regulatory Affairs.