The Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) has appointed Dr John Skerritt as the new National Manager of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)


The TGA  is responsible for regulating therapeutic goods including medicines, medical devices, blood and blood products.


Dr Skerritt has a PhD in Pharmacology and is an adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland, and is currently the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Primary Industries in the Victorian Government.


Announcing the appointment, the Secretary of the DoHA, Professor Jane Halton, said Dr Skerritt has extensive experience in medical, agricultural and environmental policy, regulation, research, research management, technology application and commercialisation.


“Dr Skerritt currently leads more than 1200 staff (including 700 regulatory staff in two major science-based regulatory Divisions) and has more than 17 years experience managing laboratory programs and operations in diagnostics, cell culture, biomedical instrumentation, chemistry and biochemistry,” Professor Halton said. “He also has recent experience in the regulatory reform of veterinary drugs and agrochemicals, which includes chairing a national committee of Commonwealth and State Regulators. “


Dr Skerritt is the former Deputy CEO of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (a commonwealth statutory authority) and a two term Ministerial appointee on the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee (Office of Gene Technology Regulator). He has experience on Boards of international and national organisations and more than 25 years experience in negotiating, leading major technical and commercial collaborations with OECD and Asia-Pacific countries.


He takes up the position at the TGA at the end of May 2012.