£20m UK programme launched to strengthen regulatory science and healthcare innovation

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced a new £20 million programme on 22 September 2026 that will strengthen the UK’s ability to regulate emerging healthcare technologies and support the safe adoption of innovations

The programme will establish four new Centres of Excellence for Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSIs). Each centre will receive funding for up to five years.
Four areas of focus

The centres will bring together researchers, healthcare organisations, industry, regulators and academic experts to address some of the challenges created by rapid developments in healthcare and life sciences.

Four strategic areas have been identified for the new centres:

• Data-driven approaches and artificial intelligence
• Prevention, early detection and novel evidence approaches
• Personalised healthcare and pharmacogenomics
• Novel platform technologies

The programme aims to develop new evidence, methods and expertise to help regulators assess emerging technologies and ensure that innovative products can be introduced safely into healthcare.

Supporting faster and safer innovation

As technologies such as artificial intelligence, personalised medicine and advanced healthcare platforms continue to develop, regulators face the challenge of ensuring that rules and assessment methods keep pace.

The new CERSIs are intended to help address this challenge by developing practical approaches to emerging regulatory issues. Their work could support the evaluation and adoption of new technologies while maintaining patient safety.

The programme is being delivered through a partnership between the MHRA, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Office for Life Sciences (OLS). The MRC and OLS are jointly funding the four new centres.

Building on an earlier programme

The new initiative follows a pilot phase involving seven CERSIs, which has helped develop regulatory science expertise across a range of established and emerging areas.

Lessons from the pilot have helped shape the new programme, with an emphasis on creating stronger and more sustainable centres of expertise that can provide long-term value across the health and life sciences sector.

The programme also forms part of wider efforts to support the UK’s life sciences sector, research base and investment environment.

Applications now open

Applications are now being invited from researchers, academic organisations, healthcare organisations, industry and innovators with an interest in regulatory science.

Further information on eligibility, research themes, assessment criteria and funding arrangements is available through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). An applicant webinar hosted by the MRC, with participation from the MHRA, is scheduled for 13 October from 10am to 11am.

The four new centres are expected to play a role in preparing the UK’s regulatory system for the next generation of healthcare innovation, helping ensure new technologies can be assessed and adopted safely and effectively.