ABPI urges next government to support UK medicines industry

In the run up to the UK’s general election, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) is calling on political parties to support the country’s science and research industry.

The ABPI is asking parties to help maintain the UK’s position as a leader in medicines and vaccines development into the future.

Through launching its 2020 Manifesto for Medicine, the ABPI hopes to help the next government capitalise on the UK’s leading life sciences industry and potentially improve the health of NHS patients.

The UK’s pharmaceutical industry invests £4.3 billion into research & development every year and employs 63,000 people.

This has been supported and strengthened in part by the UK’s relationship with the EU. In its ‘manifesto’ the ABPI asks the government to secure a deal with the EU and its future relationship based on cooperation on medicines regulation, trade access to talent and science innovation.

More so, the next government should commit to boosting R&D investment in partnership with the industry to reach the target of investing 2.4% in GPD in R&D by 2027. Additionally, any government should aim towards modernising the R&D tax credit and capital grant structure, create a new Life Sciences Skills Fund and maintain the UK’s status as a world leader in intellectual property.

The ABPI has also called on the next government to invest in new medicines by increasing the number of clinical trials taking place in the UK. Other aspects featured in the ‘manifesto’ include tackling antimicrobial resistance and ensuring the UK remains a world leader in immunisation.

In particular, the UK government should make its current Apprenticeship Levy more effective by transferring unspent funds into a new ‘Life Sciences Skills Fund’. This new fund could be used to educate, train and upskill to meet unmet skills gaps in areas such as genomics and bioinformatics.

In 2019, pharmaceutical companies signed an agreement with the Government which caps medicines spending growth at 2%, with anything over that paid back in rebates to the Department of Health and Social Care.

The ABPI ‘manifesto’ sets out why the government should ensure that rebate money is used to improve patient access to the latest medicines and technology through greater funding access and uptake initiatives.

Mike Thompson, chief executive of the ABPI, said: “The next Government will shape one of our country’s most valuable assets: an incredible pharmaceutical industry that employs tens of thousands and invests billions in research.

“We don’t just want NHS patients to get the latest breakthroughs; we want the UK to continue being home to the science that makes them possible, with all the global investment that comes with it.”