The UK has launched a new initiative to accelerate the testing of potential new therapies for COVID-19, under which the time taken to set up clinical trials would be reduced “from months to just weeks,” according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
UK To Speed New COVID-19 Drug Candidates Into Trials
Collaborative Project Hailed As ‘Transformative’
The first of six new compounds are expected to begin Phase II testing soon as part of the UK’s ACCORD initiative, a randomized platform trial bringing together government, industry and research organisations to find potential treatments for COVID-19.

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Pharmaceutical companies are being encouraged to reach out to NICE in relation to its HTA Innovation Lab, which provides a sandbox environment in which the health technology assessment body can test new methods of evaluating “innovative and disruptive” therapies.
Health technology assessment body NICE said it has taken on feedback about the implications of allowing higher cost-effectiveness thresholds for some medicines after senior health economists offered diverging views on its methods.
Cell and gene therapy manufacturers must consider the practicalities of their product within the context of a health care system before it comes onto the market to be successful, experts from Novartis, AstraZeneca and England’s National Health Service say.
The UK branded drug industry is calling for adjustments to be made to the UK voluntary scheme framework for branded medicines, after the payment rate increased to 22.9% for 2025. Meanwhile, the generics industry says the scheme is functioning “as intended” and opposes any changes.
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Eli Lilly’ will request a re-examination after the European Medicines Agency declined to recommend its Alzheimer’s disease drug Kisunla for EU approval.
The new global GCP guideline, ICH E6(R3), enables researchers and clinical trial administrators to tailor their documentation processes, but also opens the door for more scrutiny during GCP inspections.
A German ordinance implementing the EU Health Technology Assessment Regulation offers little clarity on how far joint clinical assessment reports should be considered by national authorities.