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Almost 400 medicines with dormant Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) licences have been identified as part of an initiative to relieve medicines shortages.
Project Revive — a 12-month pilot involving the MHRA, NHS England and Medicines UK — will offer fast-track regulatory advice on 378 dormant medicines which already had MHRA licensing but “failed to attract sufficient supply through NHS England tenders or which the health service believes are a supply resilience risk and represent a strategic priority”.
In a statement published on 5 February 2026, Medicines UK said the pilot will target medicines that represent a serious risk to supply resilience and could therefore lead to medicine shortages, which includes medicines for complex cancers, thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and schizophrenia.
Under a new “joined-up” pathway, medicines on the list will get prioritised MHRA regulatory support and a “dedicated buying framework outside standard procurement routes” from NHS England, it said.
The statement added: “This coordinated approach is designed to incentivise manufacturers to supply medicines that may previously have been considered commercially unviable despite their clinical importance.”
Commenting on the pilot, Fiona Bride, interim chief commercial officer and director of medicines value and access at NHS England, said: “Project Revive brings together NHS England’s commercial expertise, MHRA regulatory leadership and industry capabilities to create a clear pathway for companies to bring important patient treatments back into the NHS supply chain.”
Julian Beach, executive director of healthcare quality and access at the MHRA, said: “Through Project Revive, we are committed to providing regulatory advice within four weeks of request and ensuring timely assessment of any changes needed to bring these unmarketed medicines back into active use.”
Mark Samuels, chief executive of Medicines UK, said: “[The initiative] is a fantastic opportunity to deliver real patient benefit through collaboration between NHS and manufacturers. It is a tangible example of a partnership approach that will help mitigate the impact of shortages of critically important medicines.”
Amandeep Doll, director for England at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “Medicines shortages are a complex and ongoing challenge, so it’s encouraging to see NHS England, the MHRA and Medicines UK exploring ways to improve supply resilience.
“Project Revive’s approach puts into practice the recommendation from our medicines shortages report that regulatory flexibilities should be used during acute supply challenges to enable faster access to already-approved medicines.
“Our report also highlights additional measures to strengthen supply resilience further, including better use of pharmacists’ skills, supporting UK manufacturing, improving data sharing and ensuring clear, timely information flows. Alongside initiatives like Project Revive, these measures would help safeguard patient care and ensure continuity of treatment.”
In a report published on 4 February 2026, the House of Lords Public Services Committee said that medicines availability should be treated as a national security issue, highlighting the UK’s reliance on fragile global supply chains.
Medicines supply risks should be added to the National Risk Register, with “regular preparedness exercises focused on large-scale medicine and active pharmaceutical ingredient failure”, it recommended.
