The UK will launch a first-of-its-kind initiative to test how artificial intelligence (AI) can help make medicines safer\u00a0for patients\u00a0\u2013\u00a0as announced by the\u00a0Science Minister Lord Vallance\u00a0during\u00a0London Tech Week today (9\u00a0June 2026).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The programme will explore how AI can improve\u00a0the assessment of\u00a0accuracy and safety, better predict\u00a0risks, and detect effects that existing approaches may not capture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adverse drug reactions send around 250,000 people to hospital in the UK every year,\u00a0costing the NHS over \u00a32 billion\u00a0annually<\/a>.\u00a0Around\u00a090% of drugs fail during development<\/a>, in part because existing methods cannot always predict how medicines will behave in people. Promising treatments may not progress due to uncertainty in early safety testing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will establish a new regulatory \u201csandbox\u201d,\u00a0giving companies and researchers a\u00a0controlled testing environment\u00a0to work with regulators\u00a0to explore\u00a0how AI tools could be used to better understand medicines\u00a0safety\u00a0and predict potential side effects.\u00a0<\/p>\n Supported by funding from the\u00a0UK Government\u2019s\u00a0Regulatory Innovation Office, the sandbox will allow innovators to test AI tools that\u00a0have the potential to\u00a0predict how medicines behave in the body,\u00a0including how they are absorbed, processed and whether they may cause harm.\u00a0<\/p>\n The programme will also explore how better use of\u00a0clinical\u00a0data can improve understanding of how medicines work across\u00a0different groups,\u00a0including those often underrepresented in studies such as children, older\u00a0people\u00a0and people from diverse backgrounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n The MHRA will use this work to understand how reliable these tools are and whether they can be used to support decisions about the safety of new medicines. By building a stronger evidence base and setting clear expectations for their safe use, this will give companies confidence to invest in innovation in the UK.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It forms part of a wider effort to modernise medicines development, including the use of advanced modelling and synthetic data to improve how safety and effectiveness are assessed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This sandbox will support delivery of the Government\u2019s\u00a0AI for Science Mission One<\/a>\u00a0to develop new treatments\u00a0faster,\u00a0and\u00a0reinforces the UK\u2019s plans to drive alternatives to animal testing\u00a0announced last November<\/a>.\u00a0This also supports the 10 Year\u00a0Health\u00a0Plan<\/a>\u00a0ambition for the UK to have the world\u2019s most AI-enabled healthcare system, helping patients\u00a0benefit\u00a0from faster access to safe,\u00a0effective\u00a0and innovative treatments.\u00a0<\/p>\n Up to five AI-driven approaches will be tested in the first phase. The MHRA will begin working with industry and academic partners from summer 2026 to shape how the sandbox\u00a0operates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Health Innovation Minister Preet Gill said:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe AI revolution is here, and we want our NHS staff to be the first in the queue, armed with rigorously tested clinical AI tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBy giving\u00a0innovators\u00a0a safe space to test these tools alongside regulators, we can build the evidence base needed to get safer, more effective treatments to patients faster. That means fewer adverse reactions, less reliance on animal testing, and a smarter, more efficient medicines development process.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThrough our\u00a010 Year\u00a0Health Plan, we are driving the NHS to be the most AI-enabled healthcare system in the world.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Science Minister Lord Vallance said:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cToo many promising medicines fail late in development or never reach patients because the evidence needed to support them is difficult and slow to generate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBy leveraging our strengths in life sciences, AI and pro-innovation regulation, this sandbox will help make the UK one of the best places in the world to develop the next generation of medicines safely.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n MHRA Chief Executive Lawrence Tallon\u00a0said:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0seeing extraordinary advances in AI and\u00a0biomedical\u00a0science. The opportunity now is to harness them to deliver real benefits for patients.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese technologies could help us understand medicines better, generate stronger evidence on their safety, and accelerate the development of innovative treatments, especially in areas\u00a0of unmet need.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor patients, that means greater confidence that the medicines they rely on are supported by the best available science, with evidence that better reflects the diverse range of people they are intended to treat.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBy working directly with developers and researchers, we can help create the right environment for innovation to thrive and cement the UK\u2019s position as a world leader in life sciences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Professor Alastair Denniston, NHS Doctor and\u00a0Chair of the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare<\/a>, said:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis sandbox is a valuable opportunity for the UK to develop a practical, trusted approach to assessing AI models\u00a0that predict drug safety and pharmacokinetics: helping regulators, researchers, and innovators understand what good evidence looks\u00a0like, and\u00a0supporting responsible innovation\u00a0that accelerates the development\u00a0of\u00a0new medicines\u00a0that will\u00a0benefit\u00a0patients.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Professor Chris Molloy, CEO of the BioIndustry Association (BIA), said:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome this\u00a0timely\u00a0and\u00a0important step\u00a0which will accelerate medicines R&D in the UK and globally. UK innovators are developing AI-driven technologies and UK biotechs will adopt them. AI models have the potential to derisk drug development and deliver them to patients faster. But they need to be taught, tested and proven in a rigorous, safe space \u2013 which this sandbox delivers. We look forward to enabling a continued dialogue between MHRA and our members nationwide.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Dan O\u2019Connor, Executive Director of Regulatory policy at the ABPI, said:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome the growing focus on AI model development as\u00a0an important step towards more predictive and efficient medicines development. This sandbox could be a step towards the \u2018safe harbour\u2019 that\u00a0ABPI has called for<\/a>, creating the trusted environment industry needs to develop and adopt regulatory-compliant AI models in medicines development.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo succeed, this work will need meaningful industry engagement and should align closely with the work of the CERSIs to help build a coherent, trusted framework for innovation and regulatory adoption. We look forward to being part of the discussions to move this forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Notes to editors\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)\u00a0is responsible for\u00a0regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n