The watchdog tasked with assessing the safety of medicines and other healthcare products has been criticised by MPs.

A report from the Commons health select committee warned that the pharmaceutical industry has become "extremely powerful".

And the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which oversees the safety of drugs and other medical equipment was failing to be sufficiently rigorous about its public health responsibilities, added the study.

The report cautioned that patients are being prescribed too many drugs without proper knowledge of the full consequences of adverse side effects.

And the MHRA "lacks the discipline and leadership needed to protect patients’ health needs", it added.

The committee called for an urgent review of the regulatory body, stressing the need for it to have more independence from government and the industry, in addition to greater transparency and accountability.

A public inquiry should be held whenever a drug is withdrawn on health grounds, the committee added, saying existing procedures were "far too secretive to determine whether sufficient testing of the drug took place before its introduction to the market".

"The pharmaceutical industry is extremely powerful and influences healthcare at every level," said committee chairman David Hinchliffe.

"The lives of millions of people have been improved by the medicines the industry has produced. However, we have developed an over-reliance on medicines.

"They have been over-prescribed and patients have suffered as a result."

Regulation

Hinchliffe said that the drugs industry needed "effective discipline and regulation" which have been "lacking".

"The industry, the regulator, doctors and other prescribers must take their share of the blame," he said.

"Our recommendations reflect the need for tighter controls over drug company activities, improved medicines regulation and more effective monitoring of drug safety and efficacy.

"Above all, greater transparency is required. Both the pharmaceutical industry and the regulator have already taken steps in this direction. Further change is needed to ensure that the best medicines reach patients."

Improvements

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Paul Burstow welcomed the report.

"We have to get much better at recording and learning from side effects and reactions to medicines," he said.

"Many people go into hospital every year because the medicines prescribed to make them well are actually having the opposite effect.

"Not every reaction to a medicine can be prevented but more could be done to improve the systems for reporting these reactions and monitoring the safety of new and established drugs.

"We will consider the recommendations of this report and the implications for the future of medicine safety and regulation in this country."