Advertisement

Drug giants will leave UK if NHS does not receive billions in extra funding, industry body warns

The UK's life science and pharmaceutical industry is worth £30bn
The UK's life science and pharmaceutical industry is worth £30bn

Britain risks becoming a “desert for healthcare innovation” unless the NHS receives billions of extra funding each year, a leading trade body has warned.

Some of the biggest drug companies in the world could leave the UK because the financial squeeze on the NHS means it is falling out of the top tier of world health systems, said the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).

In its election manifesto, the ABPI called on the new Government to protect patients and companies by cementing the UK’s position as a leading global hub for the life science and pharmaceutical industry – a sector currently worth £30bn.

The UK currently spends a total of 9.9 per cent of its gross domestic product on healthcare, which places it sixth of the G7 nations, only ahead of Italy.

Lisa Anson, the association’s new president, told The Times drug companies would delay launching medicines in Britain if there is not enough funding to approve them.

She also said that companies would not be able to conduct clinical trials because they would not be able to assess potential new drugs against existing treatments if UK patients were not getting them in the first place.

By rationing healthcare spending, Britain is jeopardising its “research environment and access to new medicines by eroding the competitiveness of a key sector for a short-term affordability issue,” Ms Anson, who is also AstraZeneca’s UK president, told the newspaper.

Drug companies are “happy to discuss” possible tax increase to cover the cost of more NHS spending, she added. The Government would need to spend £20bn more a year to reach the G7 average of 11.3 per cent of GDP spent on healthcare.

The ABPI’s manifesto says it is essential to prioritise ensuring the UK is in the top quartile of OECD countries for patient access to new cost effective medicines and vaccines by 2022.

It also and demands the UK secures a relationship with the remaining member states of the EU that ensures patient access to medicines and protects public health.

Britain’s life sciences sector consists of over 5,500 companies directly employing around 140,000 people.

Citing research done by professional services firm PwC, the ABPI says that each employees contributes an estimated £104,000 to the economy, which is more than twice the country’s average.

“As we leave the EU, the new Government's agenda will need to set out the UK's stall in the global marketplace,” said Mike Thomspon, chief executive of the ABPI.

“Alongside targeted investments in our science base and making the right choices in Brexit negotiations, we can cement the UK's position as a leading global hub for our industry.”

In February, medical research organisations warned that more than 600,000 patients a year could be denied access to potentially life-saving clinical trials after Brexit.

New regulations are set to make it significantly easier for drug companies to test pioneering new treatments in EU countries – sparking concerns the UK will be “bypassed altogether” when it leaves the bloc.