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* Innovative Medicines and MedTech Review to report in 2015
* Follows criticism that Britain is too slow to adopt newdrugs
* Britain eager to promote itself as life-science hub
* Merck, Becton Dickinson plan 63 mln stg investment
LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The British government haslaunched a review to speed the path to market for new drugs andmedical devices in an attempt to improve patient care and makethe country a more attractive place for investment in lifesciences.
British manufacturing relies heavily on the pharmaceuticalssector, including domestic giants GlaxoSmithKline andAstraZeneca, but companies complain that the state-runNational Health Service (NHS) is too slow to adopt newtreatments.
The review, announced at a meeting between industry leadersand ministers at Prime Minister David Cameron's Downing Streetoffice on Thursday, aims to tackle the issue by studyinginnovative models for drug development.
This will include an examination of the scope for morecollaborative work between companies and regulators to ensurethat new medicines and devices are assessed more quickly, withgreater input from patient groups and charities such as CancerResearch UK.
An independent organisation will be appointed to carry outthe Innovative Medicines and MedTech Review, starting work earlynext year and reporting later in 2015.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry saidthe initiative is "a big step in the right direction" but thatit needs to dovetail with the National Institute for Health andCare Excellence (NICE), which assesses whether treatments aresufficiently cost-effective for the NHS.
NICE has frequently clashed with industry over its rejectionof some expensive new medicines, notably cancer treatments.
Cameron first announced a drive to make Britain a leadinghub for life sciences in 2011, welcomed at the time by industry.
In the latest boost to the sector, United States-based Merck& Co plans to invest at least 42 million pounds ($66million) in Britain over the next three years, while BectonDickinson is investing 21 million pounds, the governmentsaid.
Merck plans a new licensing hub in London and will expanddrug research facilities, while Becton Dickinson is to build aplant in southwest England to produce blood separation tubes.(1 US dollar = 0.6382 British pound) (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by David Goodman)
