FOI release

Freedom of Information request (FOI 22/838)

Published 17 January 2024

3rd August 2022

FOI 22/838

Dear ,

Thank you for your email.

MHRA refuses to  confirm or deny we hold any information relevant to your request under Section 41 (S41) and Section 43 (S43) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

S41 is an absolute exemption and no consideration of the public interest is required, except to state that we would consider the release of this information to be an actionable breach of confidence. S43 is a conditional exemption and requires a consideration of the public interest. We have considered the public interest and cannot see any public interest argument that outweighs the commercial harm in alerting competitors to whether a competitor is close to obtaining a marketing authorisation or not.

If you have a query about the information provided, please reply to this email.

If you disagree with how we have interpreted the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in answering your request, you can ask for an internal review. Please reply to this email, within two months of this reply, specifying that you would like an Internal Review to be carried out.

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you were to remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you would have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Please bear in mind that the Information Commissioner will not normally review our handling of your request unless you have first contacted us to conduct an internal review. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

MHRA Customer Experience Centre

Communications and engagement team

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency