DH releases Accelerated Access Review

The Department for Health (DH) has announced new recommendations which set out how patients can get quicker access to new and innovative diagnostic tools, treatments and medical technologies.

The review was commissioned by the government to advise on how streamlined processes could bring forward patient access to drugs by up to four years and patients will benefit from quicker access to medical technologies too.

The report will help the NHS to provide the best care to patients, use funds more effectively, and create the conditions to help the life sciences industry continue to thrive.

The review was developed in partnership with the Wellcome Trust and recommends the creation of a new accelerated access partnership to speed up and simplify the process for getting the most promising new treatments and diagnostics safely from pre-clinical development to patients.

The report indicated that evidence has shown that the UK’s performance in offering patient life-saving treatment within rapid timeframes sometimes lags behind other countries.

Through the new partnership, innovators would be able to access joined-up help for clinical development, regulation, and assessment of cost effectiveness. It suggests the partnership should include NHS England, NHS Improvement, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The Accelerated Access Review also outlines that patient access to drugs could be sped up if there is no delay at the NICE appraisal stage (which takes around two years) or during the process for NHS commissioning and adoption (which takes two years or more).

It also highlighted the benefits of using simpler processes for digital technologies such as healthcare apps for managing long-term conditions.

Sir Hugh Taylor, chair of the Accelerated Access Review, said: “This ambitious plan will prepare the health system for an exciting era in medical innovation.

“We’ve listened to the views of the NHS, patients, clinicians, the life sciences industries and academia – and it is clear we need to act now to make the most of the tidal wave of new drugs and technologies that are being developed.

Health Minister Lord Prior commented: “This government has a strong commitment to the life sciences and to building a long-term partnership with the life sciences industry. We are determined to make the UK the best place in the world to develop new drugs and other products that can transform the health of patients.

“The report provides us with a strong basis to make the right decisions about how the health system can be adapted to meet the challenges of the future, attract inward investment, grow the thriving life science industry and use innovation to improve patient outcomes and tackle the financial pressures on the NHS.”