Merger set 'as medicines and devices border blurs'

The Medicines Control Agency is to merge with the Medical Devices Agency from next April, junior health minister Lord Hunt has announced.No legislative change will be needed to bring about the merger to create a new body with responsibility for the regulation of medicines and medical devices.

Lord Hunt said: 'The main reason for deciding in favour of merging the MCA and the MDA is the increasing convergence in the fields of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.As technology develops, there are likely to be growing numbers of products that cross the borderline between medicines and devices. For instance, some products are already a combination of drugs and devices.The boundaries will become even more blurred in the future.'