According to the new “Creating the Conditions for Investment and Growth” Pharmaceutical Competitiveness Framework published by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), the UK is losing the race for investment in R&D, clinical trial delivery, and foreign direct investment.
The UK’s attractiveness compared to other countries has been evaluated using 48 competitiveness indicators as a benchmark. According to the report, the UK’s pharmaceutical R&D investment has underperformed against global trends since 2018. This slowdown has become more significant since 2020. In 2023, pharmaceutical industry investment in R&D actually fell by nearly £100 million. In the same year, foreign direct investment in UK life sciences was around 58% lower (£795 million) than in 2017 (£1,893 million). This is reflected in the decreasing ranking among comparator countries, dropping from 2nd in 2017 to 7th in 2023.
The ABPI Pharmaceutical Framework also indicates that the UK’s global ranking for commercial clinical trial placement has declined steadily since 2018 compared to other countries. According to the report, Spain has been the leading European destination for commercial clinical trials since 2020.