The Department of Health and Social Care has announced new measures for the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) in a bid to speed up the clinical development and regulatory approval of the most promising medicines, diagnostic tools and digital services.
The AAC was set up in 2018 to speed up the time it takes for patients to benefit from ground-breaking products for conditions such as cancer, dementia and diabetes.
The news has been welcomed by leaders in the innovative medtech field.
Wesley Baker, CEO of ANCON Medical, said: "This is great news for patients and fantastic to see that the Government and NHS are moving to embrace new technologies and innovations. For one of the UK's most important institutions it is of the utmost importance that future facing tech is incorporated to combat the significant challenges it will face in the next decade both in treatment and diagnosis."
The AAC will become the new umbrella organisation for UK health innovation. It will act as the ‘front door’ for innovators looking to get their products funded by the NHS and will provide support to overcome barriers that can prevent the best medical innovations from reaching patients.
To do this, a new unit in NHS England and NHS Improvement will be established, led by Dr Sam Roberts as chief executive.
The new AAC will:
- implement a system to identify the best new innovations and make sure the NHS is ready to make use of them
- set up a single point of call for innovators working inside or outside the NHS, so they can understand the system and where to go for support
- signal the needs of clinicians and patients, so innovators know which problems they need to solve
- establish a globally leading testing infrastructure, so innovators can generate the evidence they need to get their products into the NHS
- oversee a health innovation funding strategy that ensures public money is focused on the areas of greatest impact for the NHS and patients
- support the NHS to more quickly adopt clinically and cost-effective innovations, to ensure patients get access to the best new treatments and technologies faster than ever before
Dr. Leigh Neal, psychiatrist and medical director of Smart TMS, said: "The NHS is one of our longest standing institutions and it is fantastic to see that they are investing time and money into new technological advancements. We are keen to build relations with the NHS to allow TMS to be available to the wider population. As mental illnesses costs the UK economy £94 billion annually and with a fifth of adults having shown symptoms of depression, new innovative treatments for mental conditions could not only benefit those personally suffering, but also the wider economy as a whole."
The AAC has already selected and supported 12 ‘rapid uptake products’ to increase their use within the NHS. This includes a blood test for pre-eclampsia, which can diagnose the condition earlier in pregnancy and significantly reduce life-threatening complications.
Together the products have the potential to improve the lives of around 500,000 patients and save the NHS up to £30 million.
Lord David Prior, chair of NHS England, said: “Our ambition is very clear: the NHS will be the most innovative health care system in the world with much easier access and much quicker uptake of new and innovative products. This applies to therapeutics, diagnostics, digital devices and our whole supply chain. It is a top priority for the NHS.”
