The Access to Medicines and Medical Devices APPG has published a new briefing and meeting overview following its roundtable on Early Access Programmes (EAPs), held on 24 March 2026 in Parliament.

The roundtable brought together patients, clinicians, charities and industry representatives to explore why patients continue to face barriers to accessing innovative treatments made available through EAPs and what more can be done to support consistent delivery across the NHS.

EAPs are designed to help bridge the gap between regulatory approval and routine NHS commissioning. However, the discussion highlighted that, in practice, access can remain inconsistent and delayed, and is too often shaped by local NHS trust capacity rather than clinical need.

The APPG’s new briefing sets out practical recommendations to support more consistent and effective delivery of EAPs across the NHS. These include improving national coordination, strengthening support for NHS trusts, addressing operational and financial barriers, and ensuring patients are able to access innovative treatments in a timely and equitable way.

Following the roundtable, APPG Chair Danny Beales MP has used the insights from the discussion to support further engagement with parliamentarians, government and NHS stakeholders. As part of this work, Danny has raised the key issues identified through the APPG’s work and advocated for improved access to medicines available through EAPs. A copy of one of the letters sent as part of this follow-up activity is attached.

The APPG has also shared its meeting overview and briefing with NHS England’s Medicines Value and Access team to support ongoing work to better understand the current landscape, practical barriers to implementation and variation in uptake of EAPs across the NHS.

The meeting overview and two page briefing are available in the Publications section.

The APPG would welcome further insights from those with experience of Early Access Programmes, as well as support for the Group’s ongoing work in this area.