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Historic UK–US Pharmaceutical Partnership Signals Step Change for Health Regulation, Innovation and Investment

The UK Government’s newly finalised UK–US pharmaceutical partnership marks a significant moment for NHS patients, the life sciences sector, and the wider health and care innovation ecosystem. Agreed in full this week, the partnership delivers long sought reforms to medicines access and pricing, secures preferential trade terms for pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, and deepens regulatory cooperation with the United States.

For techUK members across pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, health data and digital innovation, the announcement represents both material short term wins and long term structural reform. It also reflects many of the priorities that techUK and industry has consistently raised around access, predictability, and internationally connected regulation.

Faster and fairer access to innovative medicines for NHS Patients

At the heart of the partnership is a major shift in how new medicines reach NHS patients.

On 31 March 2026, changes formally came into force regarding the way the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) evaluates the cost effectiveness of medicines (from £20-30,000 QALY threshold to £25-35,000 QALY threshold). Crucially, this update modernises a cost effectiveness threshold that had not been revised for over two decades, despite huge changes in medical innovation, economic conditions, and health system pressures.

Trade, tariffs and a stronger investment signal

The partnership also delivers a major trade breakthrough. The UK has become the first country in the world to secure a commitment to 0% tariffs on pharmaceutical exports to the United States, for at least the next three years. UK pharmaceutical exports to the US – currently worth around £5 billion a year – will now enter tariff free, offering certainty for manufacturers and exporters at a time of global trade uncertainty.

In parallel, the UK has secured preferential terms for medical technology exports, with no new additional tariffs for at least three years. For a medtech sector employing more than 195,000 people across the UK, this provides crucial stability and confidence to invest in advanced manufacturing, supply chains and high skill jobs.

Together, these measures support a sector that added £28.5 billion to the UK economy in 2025, exported almost £21 billion in pharmaceutical products worldwide, and underpins the UK’s international competitiveness in health innovation.

Regulatory cooperation: MHRA and FDA deepen alignment

Alongside changes to pricing and trade, the partnership significantly advances regulatory cooperation.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have committed to strengthening collaboration on medical device regulation, with the shared aim of supporting faster access to safe, high quality and innovative technologies for patients on both sides of the Atlantic.

This includes exploring routes toward mutual recognition mechanisms, reducing duplication in regulatory processes, and streamlining approvals – while maintaining strict, independent safety standards in both jurisdictions.

Greater alignment between two globally respected regulators has the potential to:

• Reduce regulatory burden for innovators,
• Improve predictability for manufacturers scaling internationally, and
• Accelerate patient access to cutting edge medical technologies.

Click here for the full press release