A new £20 million programme has been launched today, 22 September 2026, to create four new Centres of Excellence for Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSIs). Each centre will receive funding for up to five years, with the aim of strengthening the UK's capability in regulatory science and ensuring regulation keeps pace with advancements in healthcare and life sciences.
The funding opportunity, developed through a partnership between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Medical Research Council (MRC), and the Office for Life Sciences (OLS), is now inviting applications to establish these centres. The CERSIs are intended to bring together expertise from academia, industry, healthcare, and regulation to address emerging regulatory challenges.
Four strategic areas have been identified for regulatory science capability: data-driven approaches and artificial intelligence; prevention, early detection and novel evidence approaches; personalised healthcare and pharmacogenomics; and novel platform technologies. Professor Jacob George, MHRA Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, stated that these centres will help address emerging challenges in regulation and enable patients to benefit from new innovations more quickly and safely.
The programme builds on a pilot phase that established seven centres and supports the UK's broader life sciences ambitions by strengthening expertise and partnerships. The MRC and OLS are co-funding the new CERSIs.