One of the key features of the European Commission’s proposals for revising the EU medicines legislation is a “regulatory sandbox,” which the commission describes as a “structured context” for testing innovative medicines and other medical technologies.
What Would An EU ‘Regulatory Sandbox’ Bring To New Drug Development?
Digital health, AI, real-world evidence and “proactive learning” are key components of the EU’s proposals for new ways of regulating novel medicines, but only time will tell which products might benefit from the flexibilities offered by the “regulatory sandbox.”

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In a historic move for Africa, five products have been backed for approval via a pilot that tested a continental listing process.
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.
The weight management drug, Mysimba, continues to demonstrate a positive benefit-risk balance but the data available are not sufficient to fully determine the cardiovascular safety beyond 12 months. Meanwhile, Currax this month announced the publication of a peer-reviewed study of Mysimba that followed patients for over 4.7 years and found no evidence of excess cardiovascular risk.
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.
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One CDRH employee said the cuts already are having a major effect on morale.
Mass FDA layoffs on 1 April were designed to spare product reviewers, but still touched many who are critical to the application review process or drug development, which could mean fewer treatments are brought to the US market first.
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.