IDAP aims to address the unmet clinical needs of patients and healthcare professionals.
The UK government has announced the launch of the Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP) to support the rapid development of innovative technologies.
The new pathway aims to address the unmet clinical needs of patients and healthcare professionals.
First announced in May, the government has launched the pilot phase of IDAP, and innovators are invited to submit expressions of interest for access to the pathway.
Supported by £10m of government funding, the IDAP has the potential to accelerate patients’ access to innovative technologies in the UK by providing innovators and manufacturers with multi-partner support and targeted scientific advice.
It builds on the government’s aim to develop an end-to-end pathway for innovation previously outlined in the Medical Technology Strategy in February and its Life Sciences Vision.
Partners will offer targeted support to successful applications throughout the pathway, including the development of a targeted roadmap, system navigation advice, priority clinical investigation, joint scientific advice with partners, and more.
To be eligible for the programme, applicants must submit devices that do not have a CE mark, UK CA mark, or regulatory approval, and all products must meet criteria, addressing a significant unmet clinical need as defined in the programme.
David Lawson, director of medical technology at the Department of Health and Social Care, said that the launch “signals [the government’s] commitment to move towards a rules-based pathway which will ensure the adoption of specialty innovative medical technology into the NHS, helping to benefit patient outcomes”.
“This pathway will offer companies the direction they need to properly demonstrate the value of innovations that have the potential to address unmet needs in the system,” said Jeanette
Kusel, director of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Scientific Advice. “The opportunity for developers of game-changing health technologies to access expertise from both regulators and health technology appraisers is a unique aspect of IDAP.”
Submissions for the pilot phase are currently open until 29 October 2023.
