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EFPIA welcomes UK move to speed patient access to innovative drugs

EFPIA welcomes the planned review into plans to give NHS patients quicker access to innovative medicines and medical technology, announced on 11th March by the UK's Department of Health and Office for Life Sciences.

Speeding up the assessment of the safety and efficacy of innovative medicines by adapting systems and better exploiting the UK's integrated healthcare system is crucial to increasing and accelerating patient access to these products.

EFPIA is also supportive of moves to reform the health economic assessment system in the UK to reflect technological advances in genomics, precision medicine and informatics. Reducing time and risk in R&D, accelerating the use of data to aid evidence-based development, and pioneering new models of reimbursement for innovative products are equally important.

The drive to align existing assets and initiatives in a faster and more navigable ‘lit runway’ along the development pathway for innovative medicines, including strengthening the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, can only serve to benefit patients in the future.

We'd encourage to see similar initiatives in other countries to ensure European patients get access to medicines.