Project Revive
Project Revive is a new collaborative project between the NHS, the medicines regulator and the off-patent pharmaceutical industry aims to solve shortages of specific critical treatments by fast-tracking dormant MHRA approved licences and guaranteeing NHS purchasing.
Overview
Project Revive brings together NHS England, the MHRA and Medicines UK. Through NHS England, the programme has identified a pilot list of 378 medicines that have either failed to attract sufficient supply through NHS England tenders or which the health service believes are supply resilience risk and represent a strategic priority. The list includes products of critical priority and the ambition is to target those medicines representing the most serious risk to supply resilience which could lead to shortages affecting patient care.
Through NHS England, the programme has identified a pilot list of 378 medicines that have either failed to attract sufficient supply through NHS England tenders or which the health service believes are supply resilience risk and represent a strategic priority.
The list includes products of critical priority and the ambition is to target those medicines representing the most serious risk to supply resilience which could lead to shortages affecting patient care.
How does it work?
The project has created a new joined‑up pathway to encourage manufacturers to revive dormant licences for the selected medicines. These products will benefit from prioritised MHRA regulatory support, including early engagement meetings.
In parallel, NHS England will establish a dedicated buying framework outside standard procurement routes, offering clarity on volumes, prices and purchasing arrangements.
This coordinated approach is designed to incentivise manufacturers to supply medicines that may previously have been considered commercially unviable despite their clinical importance. The ambition is for the pathway to be delivering results in 2027.
Treatment areas for the initial list of medicines identified include complex cancers, thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and schizophrenia, to name but a few.
The concept was first outlined in the Government’s policy paper on managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines which was published in July last year.
For more information or to get involved email jackson.lynn@medicinesuk.com