UK white paper offers "challenging vision," says ABPI

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry believes the UK government white paper on innovation has created "a challenging vision that encompasses a wide range of policies and actions that need to be brought together if the UK is to retain its leadership in the global economy." The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, pointed out in his budget speech on March 12, that the pharmaceutical industry represents a full quarter of all private sector R&D, and is therefore the leading UK stakeholder in the creation and delivery of innovation.

The white paper, published by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, highlights the need for government departments and agencies (including the National Health Service) to increase their procurement of innovative products and services - an ambition that the ABPI "wholeheartedly endorses."

"While [the] DIUS is absolutely right to identify the role government can play in stimulating innovation, it is at variance with the current NHS reality of providing patients with modern medicines," said Richard Barker, director general of the ABPI.