Medicines Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
You may need to carry out a clinical investigation as part of the process to obtain a UKCA / CE / CE UKNI marking for your medical device. You must inform the MHRA if you are planning to do this at least 60 days before starting your investigation.
To enable you to decide if you are required to submit a formal clinical investigation please use this flow chart
Medical devices clinical investigations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
How to notify the MHRA of your clinical investigation
Please start your application via IRAS.
Note - A notification to theMHRAwill not be required for medical devices that are UKCA / CE / CE UKNI marked for the purpose that is under investigation.
Fees payable in relation to clinical investigations and amendments to clinical investigations
Fees
New fees for clinical investigations and amendments were introduced in April 2023 please see section 9 of our fees page.
Medical Devices Regulations 2002
A fee under this regulation
(a) shall be payable when the notice to which it relates is given to the Secretary of State;
and
(b) shall accompany that notice when it is given
In applying the regulation and to avoid delays, MHRA will invoice the applicant upon receipt of a valid application for a clinical investigation or amendment to a clinical investigation.
A final regulatory decision (approval / objection letter) on the application or amendment will not be provided until payment has been received.
Please note the following important information:
- A purchase order number must be provided along with confirmation of the contact details of the individual responsible for paying the invoice, this will enable accurate and timely invoicing.
- Once you have made the payment, please provide evidence of payment by email and quote the MHRA reference (CI/XXXX/XXX) to the relevant email address;
Clinical investigations: CI-applications@mhra.gov.uk
or
Amendments: CI-amendments@mhra.gov.uk
Validation Checklist
When MHRA receive your application for a clinical investigation of a medical device our regulatory handers will validate your application against this checklist we hope that in providing this checklist it will support you in submitting a valid application.
MHRA guidance
Follow the and guidance for manufacturers when preparing your notification application.
Applications are submitted electronically using the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS)
See for what is required by clinicians involved in the investigation.
Check the electrical guidance for clinical investigations.
Check the information on the for the scientific data you must submit.
Check for presenting statistical information for your clinical investigation.
See the guidance on UKCA markings.
Assessment
This section concerns clinical investigations being conducted in Great Britain only. Please see the separate section below for studies involving Northern Ireland.
When the MHRA has received your documents and validated them, we will write to you within 5 working days to confirm that the 60-day assessment has started or we will let you know if there are any issues. If there are any issues raised, the 60-day assessment will start when we receive a valid response.
Day 1 of the 60 days is taken as being the first day that follows the date of acceptance of a valid Notification. For example, If an application is received on 24th August and the assessor validates the submission on 28th August, the clock starts on 29th August.
During the assessment, experts will assess the safety and performance of your device as well as the design of the clinical investigation to be carried out. The MHRA will write to you if we require further information. It is essential that you contact the MHRA as soon as possible if you require clarification. Where possible we will arrange a teleconference for a better understanding and to find a resolution within the 60-day assessment time, if there are possible grounds for objection.
A letter will be sent to you by the 60th day with a decision (objection or no objection) as to whether or not you can carry out the proposed clinical investigation.
Serious adverse event (SAE) reporting
This section concerns clinical investigations being conducted in Great Britain only. Please see the separate section below for studies involving Northern Ireland.
All serious adverse e