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Innovate UK, in partnership with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Office for Life Sciences, and the Medical Research Council, have announced seven Centres of Excellence for Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSIs).

They say the projects, led by academic institutions, independent innovators, or regulatory leaders forming collaborative partnerships, will receive funding of up to £1 million each, ‘to lead the way in safer, faster pathways for innovative medicines and devices’.

One project, led by Brunel University, aims to revolutionise regulation to bring more AI-powered healthcare products to the UK, including diagnostics, devices that predict and treat ill-health, software which makes physical devices work, and smartphone apps.

The University of Liverpool has announced it will lead on a project to explore the potential of pharmacogenomics; the study of how the variation of the human genome affects the efficacy and safety of medicines. Its uptake in the NHS has been slowed by lack of clear guidelines, a challenge which this project seeks to address.