UK pharma industry beset by economic and political pressures

The UK improved its position by one place, and is now ranked fifth of the nine Western European markets surveyed in Business Monitor International's Business Environment Ratings (BER) for the fourth quarter of 2009.

However, while the UK is one of the most developed pharmaceutical markets in the world, pressing economic and political issues, as well as its strict pricing and reimbursement regimes and the upcoming patent cliff - are conspiring to reduce the market's rate of development in the coming years. In the 2008-2013 period, BMI forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just 0.49 % in local currency terms, with the market value at consumer prices growing from £18.8 billion ($34.9 billion) to £19.3 billion.

Although the generics segment is forecast to account for as much as one-third of the market by value in 2013, foreign firms continue to invest in the UK's pharmaceutical R&D. In July 2009, Belgium's UCB Pharma inaugurated its new £25 million biologics research facility in the UK, which will specialize in the development of therapeutic antibodies. Over the course of 2008, the company ploughed some £200mn into local R&D, confirming its status as the fourth-largest pharmaceutical industry investor in the country. Similarly, Spanish company Almirall Prodesfarma opened a new headquarters in the UK which will serve both the British and Irish markets.

Proposal to bypass the NICE