Stuart Walker

Professor Stuart Walker, BSC, PhD (London), MFPM, FRSC, FiBiol, FRCPath, is an independent Consultant in Pharmaceutical Medicine and Founder of both the Centre for Medicines Research (CMR) International and the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS). UK

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

During his period in academia, he has taught pharmacy, medical and MBA students, supervised 30 PhD programmes, co-authored over 350 research papers and reports and co-edited 30 books in the fields of toxicology, drug development, clinical development, regulatory policies, the benefit/risk assessment of medicines & quality decision-making practices.

Professor Walker’s initial business experience resulted from a period of eight years with Glaxo Group Research where he had international responsibility for several clinical research & Clinical Trial programmes. He pioneered some of the early international clinical development programmes and brought a number of major new products to the market in the therapeutic areas of dermatology, ophthalmology, anaesthetics and asthma.

In 1981, he was invited to establish a new organization, namely the Centre for Medicines Research International, which over a period of 25 years became the leading consultancy in benchmarking drug development for the major international pharmaceutical companies. 

In 2002, Professor Walker established the Centre for Medicines Research International Institute for Regulatory Science as a division of CMR International (now known as the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science). 

For the past six years Professor Walker has been actively involved with more than 20 regulatory authorities in the African Continent evaluating their Regulatory Performance which has included the agencies within SADC, those within the EAC region as well as those involved in the ECOWAS region. In addition he has evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of these three Regional Initiatives. He is involved in the three technical committees as they work towards the establishment of the African Medicines Agency. In this capacity he is supported through the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.