The UK is starting to benefit from a “real partnership” between the pharma industry and government that is reversing years of diminishing investment, but more must be done to secure the gains.
That’s the conclusion of the latest Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) competitiveness report (PDF), which suggests that sustained delivery of commitments made by the government could “unlock tens of thousands of high-value jobs, billions of pounds of growth, and faster access to new medicines for NHS patients.”
It’s a rise in optimistic tone compared to the last edition of the report, which concluded that the UK’s competitiveness was sliding down international rankings for investment in R&D, clinical trials, and capital projects, due to a refusal to pay for innovative new medicines.
Since then, the government has raised the cost-benefit threshold used by NICE and committed to increasing UK investment in innovative medicines to 0.6% of GDP, which the ABPI said has “begun to rebuild the UK’s appeal to global pharmaceutical investors.” At the same time, the pharma industry has committed an additional £2 billion of investment in UK R&D and manufacturing projects.
“A year ago, the UK was losing ground in the global race for pharmaceutical investment. Today, the picture is more hopeful […] but this recovery is not yet secure,” said Richard Torbett, ABPI’s chief executive.
“Investors make decisions that play out over decades, and they are watching closely to see whether the UK delivers on the commitments it has made,” he warned. “The task now is to provide and proceed along a clear, reliable roadmap to delivery so companies can invest with confidence.”
Sector employment could rise two-thirds
The prize for delivery could be a 64% increase in employment by the pharma industry from a current level of 125,000, adding another 81,300 jobs by 2035, and an increase in direct annual Gross Value Added – an economic metric that measures the contribution of a specific industry sector to an economy – from £20.4 billion to £33.4 billion.
While the UK’s science base, domestic talent, and intellectual property policy framework remain globally competitive, the country has fallen behind in the quality of its research output, losing ground to countries like China, which is being compounded by falling levels of new graduates in disciplines like natural sciences, mathematics, and statistics.
On the other hand, the UK is making progress on the weaknesses that were deterring investment; notably, underinvestment in innovative medicines and high clawback rates on company revenues through the voluntary and statutory rebate schemes, according to the ABPI.
It also hailed improved regulatory review times for clinical trials and the formation of the £600 million Health Data Research Service (HDRS), which created a single point of contact for medical researchers seeking to tap into NHS data.
“Recent investments in the UK’s health data, clinical trials, and regulatory offers create an opportunity to move from the middle of the pack to global leadership,” said the ABPI.
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