“All of us at Drug Science were saddened to hear earlier this week of the death of Colin following his year-long battle with motor-neuron disease.
Colin was instrumental in the founding of our charity in 2010, coming to the first planning meeting and staying with us as member, a trustee and finally a patron for the rest of his life, attending our scientific meetings regularly.
His wisdom and knowledge helped us steer the challenging course between revolution and progress. What is less well known is that when head of the MRC (Medical Research Council) he was an outspoken critic of irrational drug policies and worked with me to develop more rational assessments of drug harms.
This work led to the setting up of the MCDA (Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis) process for assessing comparative drug harms with Larry Phillips and me. This was a programme that was interrupted by my sacking as chair of the ACMD in 2009.
Colin was a resolute supporter of me through that turbulent period and once Drug Science was set up, we completed the work, publishing the Lancet 2010 paper that has become the landmark academic output from Drug Science.
We all at Drug Science are extremely grateful for his untiring support, warm personality and great sense of humour. He was interested in all aspects of our work and will be greatly missed.”
David Nutt
June 2022