UK Looks to Speed Up Drug Innovation

The British government has offered the bones of a strategy designed to speed up drug innovation in the United Kingdom.

The interim report is the first from the Accelerated Access Review team since it formed in June.

The findings will spark the next phase of review, leading to formal guidelines for the UK by April 2016 for research and development of new drugs. 

Drugmakers can help speed development of new therapies by collaborating earlier and taking advantage of data resources and early access programs, such as the European Medicines Agency’s Early Access to Medicines Scheme.

National Health Service patients, who also were surveyed, are at the heart of the suggestions. Input should be sought from patients throughout the drug development process, the report says, with new cures and treatments steered toward patient priorities.

The UK is mirroring the 21st Century Cures Act in the U.S. that has passed the House but remains tied up in the Senate.

The full report can be read at fdanews.com/AAR-Interim-Report.pdf.