A new partnership designed to tackle ongoing shortages of critical medicines by encouraging manufacturers to bring dormant, yet licensed, treatments back into the NHS supply chain has been launched by NHS England, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Medicines UK – the trade body for the UK’s generic and biosimilar pharmaceutical industry.
Known as Project Revive, the joint programme has identified a pilot list of 378 critical medicines that either failed to attract sufficient supply through NHS England tenders or are supply resilience risk and represent a strategic priority to protect patient care, Medicines UK said.
The list includes medicines for complex cancers, thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and schizophrenia, among other serious conditions where shortages have been a concern due to a perceived lack of commercial viability despite clinical importance.
A new procurement framework for tackling drug shortages
Project Revive will establish a new joined-up pathway to incentivise companies to reintroduce these dormant treatments with regulatory support from the MHRA.
A dedicated framework outside standard procurement routes will also be established by NHS England to provide clearer certainty on volumes, prices and purchasing arrangements.
The partnership will assess the effectiveness of reviving and broadening the number of licences for this range of critical medicines over an initial 12-month pilot period, with results being delivered and decisions on scaling up for a longer-term programme expected in early 2027.
In statements accompanying the announcement, senior figures from all three partner organisations emphasised the collaborative nature of the initiative and its importance for patient care.
Mark Samuels, chief executive of Medicines UK, described the project as a ‘fantastic opportunity to deliver real patient benefit through collaboration between NHS and manufacturers’.
He added: ‘We have long stated that medicine shortages cannot be solved in isolation, and this project shows what can be achieved by working together.’
‘Fundamental to delivering patient care’
Fiona Bride, interim chief commercial officer and director of medicines value and access at NHS England, said: ‘Project Revive brings together NHS England’s commercial expertise, MHRA regulatory leadership, and industry capabilities, to create a clear pathway for companies to bring important patient treatments back into the NHS supply chain.
‘Ensuring a resilient and stable supply of medicines is fundamental to delivering patient care, with pharmaceuticals being the most common healthcare intervention in the NHS.’
Adding a regulatory perspective to this move towards tackling drug shortages, Julian Beach, executive director of healthcare quality and access at the MHRA, said the agency was focused on ensuring a prompt response.
‘Through Project Revive, we are committed to providing regulatory advice within four weeks of request and ensuring timely assessment of any changes needed to bring these unmarketed medicines back into active use,’ he said.
‘By working with Medicines UK and NHS England, we can strengthen the UK’s medicine supply resilience.’
The partnership follows the publication of the Government’s policy paper on managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines in July last year.
