UK awards first 'Innovation Passport' to support development of cutting-edge medicines

1 March 2021

A promising treatment for a cancer-causing rare disease will be the first to pass a significant milestone under a new UK approval process designed to bring medicines more rapidly to patients.

Belzutifan (MK-6482), a treatment developed by US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD in the UK, for adults with von Hippel Lindau disease (a rare genetic disorder that causes cancer) has been awarded the first ‘Innovation Passport’ by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).

The UK scheme means patients could benefit much sooner from this treatment and it will be accelerated through the approval process; the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP).

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