The confluence of accelerated regulatory and health technology assessment access pathways.

There is a growing interest in aligning accelerated regulatory pathways with flexible access and reimbursement pathways to expedite the equitable availability of high-quality, safe and effective medicines that provide a value-based approach to meeting society's most important healthcare needs. The Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS) identified key issues regarding the confluence of regulatory and health technology assessment processes from discussions and presentations given by international regulators, health technology assessment bodies, payers, patient representatives and multinational pharmaceutical company representatives on this topic at CIRS workshops held in 2014 and 2017 that focused on the commonalties and differences across these pathways. Recent publications have also been highlighted. The barriers to and opportunities for aligning stakeholder expectations and needs were investigated and recommendations provided. Early dialogue among the stakeholders is likely the process that will provide the greatest return on investment of time and effort to identify, develop, review, and recommend important new medicines, especially those that address an unmet medical need. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.