[News] UK MHRA–NICE pathway to create faster regulatory approval

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have jointly established a new aligned regulatory pathway designed to accelerate patient access to new medicines. The initiative, outlined in recently published guidance, aims to reduce the time between regulatory approval and reimbursement decisions, addressing a long-standing bottleneck in the UK healthcare system. Cancer drugs are among the therapies most frequently affected by delays in the existing approval process, making this reform particularly relevant to oncology patients. The streamlined pathway signals a broader shift toward coordinated regulatory and health technology assessment frameworks in the UK post-Brexit landscape.