TO BE PUBLISHED October 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for improving patient access to innovative medicines and maximising benefits from health technologies in the UK.
With the Government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan and 10 Year Health Plan setting out priorities for research, innovation and NHS reform, attendees will consider key issues for regulation, appraisal, health technology assessment, adoption across the NHS and commercial arrangements for new treatments.
Policy, NHS adoption & patient access
The discussion will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to assess what recent and forthcoming changes could mean in practice for patients, the NHS, industry, researchers, regulators and others involved in bringing medicines and health technologies into use. Delegates will consider implications for patient access, outcomes and uptake, alongside the role of patient and public experience in informing development, evaluation and adoption.
The conference also takes place alongside proposals aimed at improving consistency of adoption across the NHS, as well as ongoing work relating to pricing, reimbursement and conditions for investment in the UK life sciences sector. Areas for discussion include delays between approval and uptake, variation in patient access, data and evidence requirements, NHS capacity and readiness, and wider questions around affordability, value and sustainability.
Accelerating access, evaluation & adoption
Those attending will assess practical approaches to link patients more quickly to promising medicines, diagnostics and digital technologies while maintaining patient safety and standards for clinical and regulatory evaluation.
In this context, delegates will discuss early indications from implementation of the new joint MHRA-NICE pathway, including implications of parallel reviews and simultaneous publication of licensing and value decisions for the timing of patient access to new treatments. The contribution of existing accelerated access mechanisms to earlier assessment and access for promising therapies in areas of unmet need will also be considered, including the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway and Early Access to Medicines Scheme.
The conference will also examine proposals such as a Single National Formulary and expanded NICE evaluations, and their implications for consistency, governance, local flexibility and timing of adoption within the NHS. We expect discussion on approaches to reducing unwarranted variation while maintaining appropriate clinical and financial scrutiny.
Pricing, reimbursement & investment
Further discussion will examine priorities for pricing, reimbursement, commercial agreements and market incentives, particularly for advanced therapies, high-cost medicines, diagnostics and digital technologies. In this context, attendees will consider implications of ongoing developments to the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth and forthcoming updates to the NHS Commercial Framework for New Medicines.
Priorities for supporting predictable and streamlined commercial arrangements will be assessed, including value-based and outcomes-linked approaches, alongside the conditions needed to encourage investment, research and timely launches in the UK. Attendees will also consider issues relating to market predictability, budget impact, commercial confidentiality, affordability and patient access.
Service readiness, digital health tools & clinical trials
The agenda also examines practical issues around the introduction of emerging technologies - including AI-enabled diagnostics and digital health tools - alongside the wider factors influencing the translation of research into routine care. Delegates will consider ways forward for strengthening NHS capacity and workforce capability, as well as procurement, data infrastructure, and implementation across the health system.
We also expect questions raised by stakeholders to be explored. Areas for discussion include persistent barriers associated with fragmented decision-making and variation in local adoption, as well as the impact of initiatives such as the National HealthTech Access Programme and tools such as the NHS Innovator Passport.
Further sessions look at the role of clinical trials reform and participation, including practical approaches to increasing trust and representation amongst underserved populations, and issues around regional variation and equitable adoption of trials across the health system - with reports that the Government’s previous target to reduce the average commercial trial set-up time to under 150 days was met in March 2026.
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include officials from the Department of Health and Social Care; Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; House of Commons Library; UK Health Security Agency; and The Scottish Government.
