Representatives of patients’ groups, industry bodies and venture philanthropy funders are calling for a renewal of the U.K. Rare Diseases Framework, to put fresh momentum behind translational research and clinical trials, streamline regulatory oversight and improve access to therapies.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulator Agency dropped a guidance for digital mental health technologies that clarifies several key points, such as when the DMHT qualifies as software as a medical device.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency reported June 24 it joined a global regulatory network for AI that is part of the Health AI regulatory initiative – a program that will invite another nine regulatory agencies to take part in the initiative in the months ahead.
The increased use of GLP-1 receptor agonists has led on to an increase in reports of acute pancreatitis in people taking these weight loss drugs in the U.K. That has prompted the launch of a pharmacogenomics project to investigate if there are any genetic links underlying the occurrence of this adverse event.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency opened a second round in its AI airlock program although this round, like the first round, will be limited to four applicants.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is reminding industry that several new regulatory requirements are in effect as of June 16, 2025, such as a postmarket surveillance rule that says manufacturers have only 15 days to report serious incidents to the agency.
The U.K. government has announced the latest measures to speed up and expand clinical trials, launching Be Part of Research, a central national register where people can search and sign up to take part in studies.
The U.K.’s National Health Service reported June 10 that patients in the U.K. will be the first in Europe to enjoy the benefits of the Edison ultrasound histotripsy for ablation of liver cancer tumors as part of an effort to bring products to market more quickly to deal with unmet needs.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued its first official guidance on how to develop bacteriophages as licensed medicinal products. This covers personalized phage therapies designed for specific patients – at present the only form in which they are available – but also is relevant to the development of off-the-shelf products for treating common infections.
The EMA has issued a new guideline on how to include and/or retain pregnant and breastfeeding women in clinical trials, in a move that it says “marks a change in the paradigm.” The aim is to ensure that trial sponsors generate robust clinical data in these populations.