UK

The UK government has published new terms for the Statutory Scheme for branded medicines, which controls the prices of medicines paid by the NHS. The announcement follows the agreement in mid-November of a new Voluntary Scheme for Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG), a negotiated alternative scheme which companies can opt into over the Statutory Scheme. […]

The University of Glasgow and Kadans Science Partner, supported by Scottish Enterprise, have announced plans to construct a new Health Innovation Hub in Govan in Glasgow. It is hope that the new centre, which is due for completion in summer 2025, will set the stage for a thriving life sciences cluster in the area. The […]

The UK must build more laboratory space if it is to meet its global ambitions of becoming a scientific leader, property firms and estate agencies have argued.  A report published by British Land and Savills states that there is a severe shortage of laboratory space to meet current and predicted demand. The report, called ‘Accelerating […]

The Francis Crick Institute has announced goals to reduce its operational carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, along with a longer-term target to be net zero carbon by 2040.  The biomedical discovery centre, which is based in London, published a new sustainability strategy that it says has been developed in direct response to global climate […]

The UK lags comparable countries, including France and Germany, on the degree of availability of treatments for rare diseases, according to a new report. The report by the BIA and consultancy firm PwC has highlighted the progress that has been made in improving access to rare disease treatments in the UK, and the challenges that […]

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised a new indication for anastrozole, to prevent breast cancer in post-menopausal women at moderate or high risk of developing the disease. The hormone treatment was already authorised for use in the treatment of breast cancer in post-menopausal women and has been used off-label for […]

The UK regulator has approved a new treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults that has a mutation and produces a rare protein called KRAS G12C. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised Krazati (adagrasib) to treat patients whose disease is advanced or has spread to other parts of the […]

UK regulatory authorities have approved the first trial of a gene therapy for young children with Hunter syndrome. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Research Ethics Committee (REC), and Health Research Authority (HRA) have all approved the clinical trial application that was submitted by The University of Manchester in August 2022. In […]

PwC has published a new report on the UK life sciences industry ‘The Life Sciences Future50’, highlighting companies that illustrate world-class science and innovation, including 32 in the therapeutics space. According to the report, the life science industry represents a £43.4 ($52.7) billion annual contribution to GVA and supports 646,000 job every year and. Academic […]

The MHRA has granted conditional marketing authorisation for Tepkinly (epcoritamab) as a bispecific treatment for adults with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. The conditional marketing authorisation for Great Britain is based on the single-arm Phase I/II EPCORE NHL-1 trial data, which demonstrated a 62% […]

The UK TechBio sector is thriving, according to a new report, with a growing number of companies pioneering ground-breaking products and services. A BioIndustry Association (BIA) report lists the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the advancement of gene editing technologies, the power of engineering biology, and a growing interest from […]

Cryoport and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult have entered into a new strategic partnership to support the advancement of cell and gene therapies. As part of the deal, Cryoport will establish a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant global supply chain logistics centre in the UK at the CGT Catapult’s large-scale cell and gene therapy Stevenage […]

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has revealed plans to reduce the time taken to approve the lowest-risk clinical trials by more than 50%. According to the plans, initial applications for the lowest-risk Phase III and IV trials will be processed by the MHRA within 14 days instead of the statutory 30 […]

The United Kingdom has established itself as a hub for drug discovery expertise worldwide. Here, DDW’s Megan Thomas highlights the research taking place and where this is happening. The Golden Triangle Though the UK is constantly expanding in terms of where drug discovery can flourish geographically, there is no denying both the historical and the […]

Editor Reece Armstrong provides an introduction to the Fall 2023 issue of Drug Discovery World. Find out more about the issue and how to read it. That this issue should feature a market report on the state of the United Kingdom’s drug discovery sector at the same time the country has regained access to Horizon […]

Over twenty pharma companies have rejected the UK government’s proposed changes to the statutory scheme for branded medicines, the latest move in an ongoing disagreement between the government and industry. According to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical industry (ABPI), the “radical plans” are “unworkable”. And will be “highly damaging to UK life sciences and […]