Guidance

Introduction to the Innovation Accelerator

Updated 29 June 2026

Overview

The Innovation Accelerator brings together the MHRA’s Innovation Office, the Regulatory Advice Service for Regenerative Medicines (RASRM), Regulatory Science and Horizon Scanning. It also supports the delivery of the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP). 

Horizon scanning 

Horizon scanning aims to future-proof the work of the MHRA by systematic detection and assessment of early signs of potentially important regulatory developments, to ensure we remain a regulator capable of supporting safe innovation with respect to healthcare products: it helps to make us better at what we do. 

Horizon scanning supports the pathway of innovative products from idea to adoption by identifying and seeking to overcome barriers, including, where needed, making changes through Regulatory Science: See the following examples: 

• Horizon Scanning Case Study: Point of Care manufacture 

• Horizon Scanning Case Study: Developing standards for Adeno-associated virus gene therapies 

• Horizon Scanning Case Study: Guiding principles that can inform the development of Good Machine Learning Practice 

• Horizon Scanning Case Study: What is an Actionable Horizon Scanning Signal (AHSS)? 

If you have any suggestions for horizon scanning signals, please email innovation.accelerator@mhra.gov.uk. 

Innovation Office 

The Innovation Office is part of the MHRA’s Innovation Accelerator which supports queries regarding innovative medicines, medical devices, and novel manufacturing processes that face regulatory challenges, uncertainties, or gaps in the current regulatory framework. This service is available to organisations of all backgrounds and sizes based nationally or internationally including academics, not for profit organisations and patient groups involved in research and industry.  

The Innovation Office offers access to free and confidential expert regulatory information, advice, and guidance.  

Find out more about the Innovation Office. 

Regulatory Advice Service for Regenerative Medicines 

This advice service offers research and development professionals across academia, industry and the NHS (including clinicians) a single point of access to free, joined-up regulatory information, advice and guidance from: 

• Health Research Authority (HRA) 
• Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) 
• Human Tissue Authority (HTA) 
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 
• Specialists across the MHRA 

Find out more about the RASRM 

MHRA Horizon Scanning and Innovation case studies 

The MHRA has co-developed case studies demonstrating how the regulator has helped a number of companies and organisations navigate the regulatory processes for innovative healthcare products. 

Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway 

The Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) is a unique initiative which aims to accelerate the time to patient care for transformative new medicines and drug-device combinations, facilitating patient access by providing a single integrated platform for sustained collaborative working between the developer, the regulator (MHRA), the UK health technology assessment (HTA) bodies and the National Health Service (NHS), as well as patients.    

Find out more about the ILAP. 

Regulatory Science 

The MHRA is keen to identify future priorities for Regulatory Science in the UK and to explore how advances in Regulatory Science can enable efficient and effective regulation of current and emerging healthcare products. 

Regulatory Science at MHRA, whilst maintaining the confidentiality of information received, means the assessment of signals to develop new regulatory tools and systems to enable improved regulatory decision-making throughout the lifecycle of healthcare products. 

If you have any suggestions for area of focus of regulatory change needs or topics for which guidelines are lacking or outdated, please email innovationoffice@mhra.gov.uk.