Country Report: UK

A Vote of Confidence

Britain’s GBP 64 billion (USD 83 billion) life science market has long ranked proudly as one of the most alluring pharma prospects within Europe not just courtesy of a very decent 3.3 percent growth rate, but also because of the country’s heavyweight medical science infrastructure and a well-honed reputation for elite innovation.

“I think one of the tremendous advantages we enjoy here in Britain is that we possess three world-leading assets: our iconic National Health Service (NHS), a thriving life sciences ecosystem, and a formidable academic research base. Each one is recognized as a world-beater in its own right,” resolutely declares parliamentary under secretary of state for health Lord O’Shaughnessy. 

Meanwhile, the sector’s value to the national economy stands uncontested. “I consider it absolutely no exaggeration to say that the life sciences sector constitutes one of the last big remaining bastions of British industry. Many of the other traditional heavyweight industries have been gradually hollowed out and relocated to other parts of the globe, but with life sciences, the hub remains staunchly implanted within the UK,” remarks Terry O’Regan, Biogen vice president and managing director of the UK and Irish affiliates.

Yet the overarching vibe is hardly one of a local industry content to rest on its laurels. “With the NHS celebrating its 70th anniversary, a fiercely ambitious and forward-looking Life Sciences Industrial Strategy (LSIS) entering into force, and a historic opportunity to take our sector global with the advent of Brexit, these are profoundly exciting times for anyone involved in the British pharmaceutical or biotech community,” says Mike Thompson, CEO of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).

To view the full article on the UK’s pharma and healthcare markets, produced by Focus Reports and featured in Pharm Exec's September 2018 issue, click here.

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