UK

On May 20, 2026, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced that the MHRA-NICE Real-World Evidence Scientific Dialogue (RWE SD) pilot has become an established service. The service will be delivered through precompetitive “safe harbour” workshops jointly convened by the MHRA and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Four workshops will be held each year, organized across two application cycles. Expressions of interest for the first 2026 cycle may be submitted until August 17, 2026.

In June 2026, NHS England announced the fourth round of its NHS Cancer Program Innovation Open Call funding competition. The call is seeking innovations that address two key challenges: improving productivity by managing demand or increasing capacity across cancer care pathways, and driving earlier detection and diagnosis of cancer. Applications are expected to open in September 2026, with potential applicants invited to attend a briefing webinar on June 18, 2026.

In May 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new Early Use HealthTech Guidances (HTGs) on digital technologies to support self-management of asthma and artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies for echocardiography analysis and reporting in heart failure.

On May 14, 2026, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) introduced a Health Bill (“the bill”) to Parliament, initiating a staged approval process toward Royal Assent. The bill legislates for several measures, including abolishing NHS England, empowering integrated care boards (ICBs) as strategic commissioners, and reforming the NHS foundation trust model.

In April 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published two new HealthTech Guidances (HTGs) on transvenous embolization for spontaneous intracranial hypotension caused by a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) venous fistula and digital technologies for applying algorithms to spirometry to support asthma and COPD diagnosis in primary care and community diagnostic centers. In addition, four clinical guidelines were updated.

On April 22, 2026, NICE published an updated NICE-wide Topic Prioritisation manual (PMG46) for consultation to include further details on how NICE will prioritize topics for evaluation. The deadline for comment submission is May 19, 2026.

In March-April 2026, Health Technology Wales (HTW) accomplished two full appraisals on salvage high-dose-rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer and AI-assisted ultrasound for the detection of deep vein thrombosis. Additionally, two Med Tech-related Topic Exploration Reports were published in the E-health and Pulmonology fields.

On March 31, 2026, NHS England released an updated work plan for the development of Clinical Commissioning Policies for specialised services. The update includes three new MedTech-related policies in the cardiovascular and radiotherapy areas, as well as the initiation of a revision to the existing policy on TAVI. No policies have been published since the previous update. The status of ongoing policies has been revised.

On April 8, 2026, NHS England published the 2026/27 National Genomic Test Directory. The key update concerns hematological and neurological cancers, for which separate files were published with a significant restructure: new genomic test (GT) codes were introduced, gathered into new clinically relevant test packages (TP), and mapped to existing M-codes. Furthermore, multiple changes were made in the rare and inherited diseases directory, including the addition of several new codes.

In March 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released five Med Tech-related assessments in its HTA Journal, which concerned eye screening programs in diabetes, surgical and non-surgical splint treatment for finger fractures, diagnostic strategies for ovarian cancer, biomarkers for outcomes prediction in adults with suspected sepsis, and diagnostic tools of peripheral arterial disease in diabetes.

On April 8, 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) launched a funding opportunity to support the generation of real-world evidence for technologies recommended through NICE early use guidance. Outline applications should be submitted by May 27, 2026. Successful applicants will then be invited to submit a full application, with the final funding decision expected in December 2026.

In March 2026, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published four new HealthTech Guidances (HTGs) on surgical and percutaneous insertion of a catheter-based left ventricular microaxial flow pump for cardiogenic shock, off-pump minimal access mitral valve repair by artificial chordae insertion, and AI technologies to help detect or characterize colorectal polyps. In addition, two clinical guidelines were updated.