UK Kicks Off Program to Expedite Drugs to Market

The British government is looking to speed new drugs to market and provide faster patient access to medicines, an initiative that some industry experts say should include reforms of the UK’s healthcare reimbursement body.

The Innovative Medicines and MedTech Review will explore recent developments in genomics and digital technology that can significantly reduce the time and expense of developing new drugs, devices and diagnostics, the UK Department of Health said.

The review will include an examination of: how collaboration between companies and regulatory bodies can speed product assessments, how charities and patient groups can get treatments to patients faster and how practitioners can more rapidly adopt new drugs and other medical innovations.

Industry so far has contributed $97 million to the effort, including $65 million from Merck over the next three years for new licensing and research facilities and equipment.

UK pharmaceutical industry groups welcomed the initiative but want it to also encompass changes in how the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes coverage decisions. This effort needs to be fully joined up with other initiatives that impact NICE and the National Health Service of England, said Stephen Whitehead, head of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.

NICE spokesman John Davidson said that it’s too early to speculate whether the review might change any agency procedures. The healthcare cost watchdog did say that in September it had called a wider review of innovation, evaluation and adoption of new treatments to involve patients, NHS staff, industry and researchers. NICE also has proposed an office for innovation to provide industry with assistance through development, evaluation and adoption of products into the NHS.

An independent panel will be appointed for the Innovative Medicines and MedTech Review and will start reporting in 2015. — Lena Freund

Originally appeared in Drug Industry Daily, the pharmaceutical industry’s number one source for regulatory news and information. Click here for more information.