Patients in Manchester could benefit from earlier diagnosis, more personalised care and faster access to proven new technologies under a major new partnership launched today, 2 September, that will test promising innovations in real NHS settings.
The partnership brings together the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), building on the MHRA’s wider use of regulatory sandboxes to support safe innovation and accelerate patient benefit.
As the first major programme under the partnership, a new Manchester Sandbox will allow innovative technologies to be deployed and tested in NHS settings, generating evidence safely on how they perform with patients and clinicians in their day-to-day practice.
Working with MFT, the programme aims to rapidly evaluate healthcare solutions that can improve patient care and safety, reduce pressure on NHS services and support wider adoption of technologies that work. This collaboration provides the opportunity to test proportionate, lifecycle based regulatory approaches fit for the current and future needs of the healthcare system.
The first technologies are expected to include AI-enabled medical devices, such as tools that can identify patients at higher risk of complications from long-term conditions, enabling earlier support and treatment.
Learning from the programme will be shared across the NHS and could help inform how effective new technologies are introduced in other parts of the country, supporting wider access to innovation for patients.
New healthcare technologies often show potential in development, but proving they work in real healthcare settings is critical, so patients can benefit from them. The Manchester Sandbox has been created to address this challenge, bringing together healthcare providers, regulators and innovators earlier in the process.
Regulatory sandboxes are a key part of the MHRA’s approach to enabling safe innovation for patients. By deploying and testing technologies in real healthcare settings, with appropriate oversight and guardrails, the programme will generate practical evidence on their ongoing safety, effectiveness and impact. This will help the NHS make more informed decisions about which innovations best meet the needs of their patients in practice and deploy those technologies faster. It will also help developers better understand the evidence needed for wider NHS use.
Manchester is increasingly recognised as one of the UK’s leading systems for health innovation, combining one of the country’s largest NHS trusts with world-class research expertise, advanced digital capabilities and a growing AI sector. The programme builds on long-standing collaboration between the NHS, universities, innovators and regulators across the region, further strengthening Manchester’s position as an attractive destination for health research, development and investment.
Excerpt from the official page. The original is authoritative. Continue reading at UK MHRA ↗