FOI release
Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) and Vaccines Expert Working Group (VEWG) minuted discussion
This request was refused in part, so we didn't provide some of the information the requester asked for. This may include information where we can neither confirm nor deny that we hold it.
Case reference FOI2026/00420
Received 20 April 2026
Published 5 June 2026
Request
This request follows your Internal Review decision IR2026/00280 dated 30 March 2026, in which the Agency placed the following on record: 'All MHRA documents were included in the search, across departments and teams, including expert committees'; 'All documents the Agency holds were included in the search, including all documents submitted by stakeholders to the MHRA'; 'The search scope was not limited to documents explicitly labelled as oncology-related assessments.' This request tests and narrows that scope statement rather than expanding it. DHSC has confirmed (FOI-1672956, acknowledged in FOI-1680035) that searches of departmental systems using oncology-related terms returned over 1,600 items. MHRA's position in FOI2026/00153, FOI2026/00239 and IR2026/00280 is that no formal oncology risk assessment was conducted, commissioned or received. The request below probes a specific, narrow subset of MHRA holdings that falls inside the IR2026/00280 scope statement. Request 1. Please provide the minutes, agendas, or formal action records of: (a) the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM); and (b) the CHM Vaccines Expert Working Group (VEWG), covering the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023, where the minuted discussion references any of: p53, DNA-damage response, tumour suppressor, genotoxicity, spike protein pharmacology, immune surveillance, or BRCA1/BRCA2. 2. Please identify the named MHRA officer or role accountable for the search undertaken in response to FOI2026/00153 and upheld in IR2026/00280, and the named officer accountable for the comprehensive-search statement quoted above. 3. Please confirm that 'stakeholder submissions' as referenced in IR2026/00280 includes marketing authorisation dossiers, toxicology summaries, and pharmacology submissions from COVID-19 vaccine authorisation holders (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Novavax, Valneva, Janssen). 4. In the event that no such CHM or VEWG minutes exist for the period specified, please confirm explicitly in those terms, given that such a confirmation will establish the outer boundary of the IR2026/00280 scope statement. Scope and cost This request is deliberately narrow: two named committees, a four-year window, a specific list of scientific terms, and a binary question on the boundary of an already-disclosed scope statement. It is not a campaign request and is not aggregable with unrelated correspondence under Section 12(4). The request tests the integrity of a statement the Agency has itself placed on the public record.
Response
See attached
Documents
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