Following a review by an expert panel of clinicians, including
NHS clinicians and the regulator, the MHRA, the Government will
be ending support for four devices in the Ventilator Challenge.
Recognising the Government’s need to create effective ventilators
at pace, the panel concluded that other designs could better meet
the clinical needs of the NHS at this time.
Government efforts to increase ventilator capacity have already
seen an additional 2,400 mechanical ventilators made available to
the NHS since the start of the pandemic, with over 250 coming
from the Ventilator Challenge so far. The number of extra
ventilators rises to 6,745 in total, when you include both
mechanical and non-invasive ventilators
The UK now has 10,900 mechanical invasive ventilators available
to the NHS, as well as 4,300 non-invasive devices.
During the coronavirus pandemic, everyone who has required a
ventilator has had access to one, but the Government will
continue to increase capacity through its three pillar strategy:
procuring more ventilators from overseas, scaling up the
production of existing or modified designs and working to design
and manufacture new devices.
The Government recently announced that 15,000 Penlon Prima ESO2
ventilators have been ordered, the first newly-adapted device to
receive regulatory approval in the Ventilator Challenge, with
production set to ramp up in the coming weeks. Smiths paraPAC
ventilators, an existing device, are also being manufactured at
speed and at scale as part of the Ventilator Challenge.
Devices that have been selected to continue as part of the
Ventilator Challenge have been selected based upon expert
clinical and technical advice. This includes feedback from
rigorous testing of the ventilators by clinical experts to ensure
that they meet the necessary standards for patient safety and
effectiveness of treatment, which is of vital importance for any
new ventilator design. This selection criteria also takes into
account projections for ventilator demand, the availability of
other devices which already have regulatory approval, the
performance and clinical usefulness of each device and the
progress to date on each device’s overall development.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said:
The innovation, teamwork and commitment shown by manufacturers
involved in the Ventilator Challenge has been inspirational.
While the Government will be ending support for four of the
devices in the Ventilator Challenge today, I want to put on
record my sincere thanks to everyone involved.
They are heroes of our national effort and their contribution
to protecting our NHS and saving lives will not be forgotten.
Health Secretary said:
Since we launched the Ventilator Challenge the ingenuity and
innovation shown by so many companies has been truly
awe-inspiring and has helped us continue to get ventilators to
the frontline and keep capacity ahead of demand.
Technology and innovation, operating hand-in-hand with the care
and dedication of our fantastic health and social care staff,
will help us overcome this virus.
I want to thank every company, and their staff, for their
phenomenal achievements in going forward to the next stage.
Following the recommendations of the expert panel, the Government
will continue to provide support to four devices, as well the
Penlon and paraPAC. We are scaling up production of existing
Breas Medical devices, the Nippy 4+ & Vivo65, with the first
units expected next month. In addition, two devices are subject
to ongoing review to ensure that they continue to meet the needs
of the NHS:
- Zephyr Plus, made by Babcock
- Gemini, made by OES Medical
Five other devices will continue to be eligible for support
before being reassessed by a further clinical panel next week:
- Piran Vent, made by Swagelok
- Veloci-Vent, made by Cambridge Consultants Ltd and MetLase
- Sagentia Ventilator, made by Sagentia
- CoVent, made by TTP and Dyson
- AirCare, made by BAE Systems
From the start of the challenge we have been clear that not all
designs would necessarily be taken forward and so today the
Cabinet Office is ceasing support for four ventilator designs.
These are:
- EVA, made by TEAM and Cogent Technology
- Helix, made by Diamedica and Plexus
- OxVent, made by KCL, Oxford University and Smith+Nephew
- InVicto, made by JFD
