UK skills gap is reaching "tipping point" for drug R&D ABPI warns

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has issued a warning that the UK's future as a global center of biomedical excellence cannot be assured, due to serious concerns about the availability of skills to support drug R&D. A report published by the group, Skill Needs for Biomedical Research: creating the pools of talent to win the innovation race, finds that UK students lack core laboratory and mathematical skills for research. The ABPI also found a "deficit in the supply of critical subjects to support translational medicine."

Philip Wright, the ABPI's director of science and technology, said: "the UK pharmaceutical industry is at a tipping point when it comes to skills supply. If the trend continues, the UK stands to lose an industry that contributes billions of pounds to its economy every year and the UK academic base will not be sustainable in the long term."

A solution proposed by the ABPI is to increase government subsidies for key university courses as part of the national science and innovation strategy. Dr Wright added: "successful biomedical innovation requires a range of skills in both the public and private sector. We need to create pools of talent to attract and retain investment if we are to compete in the long term."