Pharmaceutical exports drop despite R&D funding rise

UK exports of pharmaceutical products have fallen by 8 per cent in four years despite a rise in government spending on R&D, data compiled by the government’s Office for Life Sciences has shown.

The UK’s pharmaceutical exports had a value of $33.3 billion (£24.7bn) in 2016, down from a peak of $36.4bn in 2012, despite a “steady rise” in export values up to that point from $29.1bn in 2007. The fall occured despite an overall increase in government and charity spending on medical R&D, according to a report published by the office on 16 May.

Overall non-industry spending on R&D by three big funders stood at £3.6bn in 2016, according to the report. The largest proportion—45 per cent, or £1.4bn—came from members of the Association of Medical Research Charities, with the remainder split almost evenly between the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research.