Getting the most from your ISA meeting
Published 20 February 2026
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Companies requesting Integrated Scientific Advice will have a meeting with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). This the chance to present the project and get answers to specific questions.
Meetings are planned for up to 2 hours.
Preparing for the meeting
The company presentation should be concise. You will need to discuss all agenda items and questions in the briefing book within the allocated time.
Providing background information
You will have up to 20 minutes at the start of the advice meeting to present background information on the technology (typically 4 slides). This is limited to:
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the claimed indication
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the value proposition
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the status of development
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the proposed position in the NHS treatment pathway
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a short summary of company’s development plans
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any significant updates since the briefing book was produced
Provide a table of the relevant studies
You should present the studies that are the subject of the scientific advice in a table summarising their main aspects, including:
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overall design
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primary objective
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population and sample size
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comparators
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primary and secondary endpoints
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quality-of-life measures
Detail changes since the briefing book
If relevant, include slides highlighting any changes to the development programme since the briefing book was produced. This section should typically be 4 slides.
Focus the main presentation on questions and issues
The rest of the presentation should focus on the questions included in the briefing book with a summary of the company’s position (1 to 2 slides per question).
When factoring in NICE and the MHRA’s list of issues, it is helpful to consolidate the responses to the issues under relevant headings such as population, comparators, endpoints and health economic modelling.
If patient experts are involved, the company is encouraged to present 1 slide discussing patient involvement and patient experience with the disease and technology.
The company is also encouraged to present and discuss NHS implementation issues, if any.
Timings, extra slides and providing information in advance
Additional slides can be included as back-up slides (for example, results from early phase studies, relevant extracts from clinical guidelines or treatment pathways, selected bibliography).
The total number of slides should support a productive discussion during the meeting (typically a 3-hour meeting should not contain more than 24 slides).
The company should send NICE and the MHRA its slides with the agenda. Use the format of Figure 1 to provide the list of discussion areas. A 10-minute break should be factored into the meeting around the halfway point, so the total amount of time allocated for discussion points will be 2 hours 20 minutes.
Figure 1 example meeting agenda
| Agenda item | Time |
| Welcome and introductions | XX:00 |
| Presentation by company | XX:10 |
| Discussion points (and time allocated to each): | |
| Discussion point 1 | XX:XX |
| Discussion point 2 … | XX:XX |
| Break (10mins) | |
| Discussion point … 3 | XX:XX |
| Discussion point 4 | |
| Meeting close |
Further information and how to get in touch
Further information
Request Integrated Scientific Advice
See detailed guidance on Integrated Scientific Advice
See supplementary information on the ISA service