Three promising treatments for lung cancer, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s receive UK innovation passports

Three investigational medicines targeting lung cancer, Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease have been awarded Innovation Passports through the UK’s Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP)

Announced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 9 November 2026, the Innovation Passports will allow the developers of the three treatments to receive support throughout development.

The ILAP brings together regulators, the NHS and health technology assessment organisations to support the development of promising treatments. The ILAP hopes to reduce development risks, encourage collaboration and help speed up patient access to medicines that address significant unmet medical needs.

Three treatments recognised for their potential

After assessment by the ILAP Selection Panel, Innovation Passports have been awarded to three investigational therapies:

• Brezosiran:

  • An experimental small interfering RNA (siRNA) treatment developed by Alnylam for Huntington’s disease. It is designed to silence specific genes by targeting and breaking down messenger RNA (mRNA).

• BGB-58067:

  • A small-molecule oncology treatment developed by BeOne Medicines, with first-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as its expected lead indication. The therapy is a PRMT5 inhibitor being investigated for patients with MTAP-deficient tumours, an area where targeted treatment options remain limited.

• Diranersen:

  • An antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) treatment developed by Biogen for early Alzheimer’s disease. It represents another investigational approach to tackling this progressive neurological condition.

Addressing unmet medical needs

The three conditions affect millions of people worldwide and continue to present major challenges for patients, families and healthcare systems.

Huntington’s disease is a rare, inherited and ultimately fatal neurological condition. No approved treatments currently slow the disease’s underlying progression, highlighting the need for new therapeutic approaches.

Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common form of lung cancer, accounting for approximately 80–85% of cases. Around 50,200 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK each year.

Meanwhile, Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia. An estimated 982,000 people were living with dementia in the UK in 2024, with this figure expected to increase.

The next steps

The Innovation Passport designation provides developers with opportunities for early engagement and collaboration with organisations including the MHRA, NICE, the Scottish Medicines Consortium and the All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre.

This support can help companies generate the evidence needed to demonstrate whether their medicines are safe, effective and offer value to healthcare systems.

However, all three treatments remain investigational. Receiving an Innovation Passport does not mean a medicine has been approved or is available to patients. Any future access will depend on clinical evidence and the relevant regulatory and assessment processes.

The next round of Innovation Passport applications opened on 9 November 2026 and will remain open until 11 February 2027.