APPENDIX 44
Memorandum from the Association of the
British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
INTRODUCTION
The pharmaceutical sector is the leading industrial
funder of the research base in the UK. The industry provides the
third highest trade surplus of all sectors with a trade balance
of £3.6 billion in 2003[22].
The industry employed 83,000 direct employees in the UK in 2002,
GDP per employee being £80,843[23].
The pharmaceutical industry welcomes this inquiry
and the opportunity it provides to highlight the importance of
strategic disciplines to an industry which, in 2003 invested nearly
£9 million per day (£3.2 billion per annum) in research
and development (R&D) in the UK, equating to a quarter of
UK industrial R&D funding. This figure is substantially greater
than pharmaceutical company investments in any other European
country.
The pharmaceutical sector is also a significant
supporter of academic research, hosting nearly 700 PhD students
in laboratories and funding over 400 separate collaborative research
projects. This equates to funding over £70 million on collaborative
research (excluding contract and clinical research) and provides
access to new compounds, technologies and resources that students
and universities would not otherwise have.
The chemical and biological sciences are core
disciplines in drug discovery and development. Research based
pharmaceutical companies have major facilities in the UK in order
to interact with the excellent academic research base and to recruit
well trained graduates, postgraduates and post docs from its Higher
Education Institutions.
Four factors are critical to the success of
the UK in retaining R&D investment: access to skills and knowledge;
a good regulatory climate; competitive cost base for collaborative
research and a market that supports innovation. Unless the UK
is able to sustain and improve the environment in relation to
these four issues it is difficult to see how the Government vision
of a science and innovation-led economy can be realised.
This inquiry is timely for implementation of
the Government's 10 year Science and Innovation Investment Framework
and the continuing news of closure of university chemistry departments.
KEY POINTS
— ABPI members are finding it increasingly
difficult to source certain types of graduates and skills within
the UK—especially those individuals with good quality chemistry
degrees and in vivo pharmacologists.
— The industry seeks to employ graduates
who have received high quality teaching, have had the opportunity
to develop excellent practical skills and have studied a single
subject in depth, rather than taken a science course in which
the science has been diluted by study of other subjects.
— University science departments which
have been rated 5 or 5* for the quality of their research do not
always produce high numbers of graduates who wish to pursue a
career in science. Industry is most likely to value the skills
and knowledge developed during a four year MChem/MSci "sandwich"
course.
— Supply of clinical pharmacologists
is also a major concern as they have a unique role to play in
the safety and efficacy testing of medicines.
— The Government and HEFCE should act
now to prevent the current random closure of good departments
by Vice Chancellors.
— Government must ensure that high
quality teaching for undergraduate science degrees is maintained
and should seek ways of encouraging students to take science degree
courses, especially in chemistry, physics and mathematics. A pool
of quality science talent should be created not just to enter
industry, but to sustain academe and provide the science teachers
who can encourage pupils to pursue science in Higher Education.
The Committee has invited evidence to be given
on the following points:
The impact of HEFCE's research funding formulae,
as applied to Research Assessment Exercise ratings, on the financial
viability of university science departments
The research funding formula was intended to
support and reward high quality research by directing funding
to leading departments to enable them to strive towards world
class research status. However inadequate funding of science teaching
in universities has resulted in departments subsidising their
teaching from this funding. Changes in the allocation of funds
based on Research Assessment ratings since the 2001 Research Assessment
Exercise (RAE), has resulted in nationally excellent research
departments (rated 4) losing significant funding. It appears that
in some instances this has led to Vice Chancellors deciding to
close departments, even in institutions with a high level of demand
for its undergraduate chemistry course from well qualified applicants,
and a record of providing high quality undergraduate teaching.
It is possible that all science departments with scores below
5, and which require expensive laboratory facilities, may be vulnerable
to closure in an uncoordinated fashion as Vice Chancellors struggle
to meet financial targets.
Closure of chemistry departments will, of course,
affect other departments within a university. We share the concerns
of the Bioscience Federation that, since physical sciences underpin
much bioscience research, any loss of departments of physics and
chemistry would threaten the current excellence of UK bioscience
research. Some universities appear to be planning to increase
their commitment to biosciences and medicine, at the same time
as closing chemistry departments; this appears a bizarre decision
considering that bioscience and organic chemistry are intrinsically
linked.
We agree that the status quo is probably not
viable, or desirable, if universities are to support well equipped
departments with high calibre research and teaching staff. We
do not believe that the random decisions being made to close departments,
which result in large areas of the country with no high quality
chemistry department, for instance, is a satisfactory solution.
Those universities rated highly for research
do not all produce high numbers of graduates who wish to follow
a career as practising scientists. A number of lower rated departments,
however, through provision of courses which include an industrial
placement, encourage students to pursue a career where they will
use their degree in a research or manufacturing environment.
Many of our member companies provide opportunities
for students to spend their Industrial Placement (IP) year in
their laboratories. In recent years 11 chemistry undergraduates
from Exeter have spent their IP with one large pharmaceutical
company, the second highest number from a single university. A
number of these students have become full time employees. Other
pharmaceutical companies have also commented on the high quality
of IP students from Exeter.
The desirability of increasing the concentration
of research in a small number of university departments, and the
consequences of such a trend
Many areas of scientific research require access
to state of the art equipment and facilities. It would not be
feasible for all universities to invest in the infrastructure
required to support research at the highest level, hence a method
for ensuring that top departments remain world class is required.
However the rationalisation of top quality research provision
needs to be better managed and co-ordinated. We do not believe
that the current RAE process is the best method for doing this.
Despite substantial consultation on the conduct
of the RAE, the ABPI has concerns that the programme proposed
for 2008 will not fully recognise collaborative and cross-discipline
work, and hence may understate the importance of applied research,
particularly that done in collaboration with industry.
Pharmaceutical companies fund substantial programmes
of collaborative work with UK universities. In deciding where
to set up collaborations, companies identify those departments
with top quality facilities and research expertise. A recent survey
of its members by ABPI has revealed that there are at least 8
university departments rated less than 5 where more than one company
funds collaborative work, with many more being supported by one
company[24].
Reasons for funding these collaborations include high quality
teaching, the department being a centre of excellence nationally
or internationally in a specific area, an academic group with
a strong focus on a relevant research area, and good links with
innovative start-up companies.
The solution would be to focus on excellence
not just at institution level, but also recognised high quality
research teams that may be embedded in otherwise non-research
intensive departments.
The implications for university science teaching
of changes in the weightings given to science subjects in the
teaching funding formula
Over the last five years pharmaceutical companies
have increasingly raised the supply of students as an issue of
concern. The concerns are not simply with whether they have good
qualifications or not, rather it is with their practical skills
and depth of knowledge.
While difficult to quantify, the consistent
and regular anecdotal evidence is that quality of graduates is
deteriorating from all but the leading universities. Indeed this
decline is highlighted by UK R&D facilities taking an increasing
number of students for sandwich courses and industrial placements
from universities in mainland Europe. Such a trend is not necessarily
negative, improving inflow of new ideas and people, yet it reduces
the recruitment from UK courses.
The decline in science graduates can only accelerate
in the future, following a decision by the Higher Education Funding
Council for England to reduce the qualifier for laboratory-based
courses from its previous level of 2 to 1.7 (Table 1). While the
unit cost for student courses was increased by 20%; because of
the drop in funding qualifier, this meant an increase of only
2% for laboratory based courses. It is therefore difficult for
universities to justify further investment in expensive laboratory
based courses, or indeed refurbishment of existing facilities,
rather than expand lecture-based courses to meet Government expansion
demands.
Of particular concern is the supply of chemists
and, of specific interest to the industry, in vivo pharmacologists.
Although numbers following biological degrees have held up well,
the relevance of the training has not. There are very few universities
providing in vivo skills training at undergraduate/postgraduate
level. A major factor is the costs of running such courses which
the funding formula does not currently recognise. The few courses
still running remain just about viable because of contributions
from the British Pharmacological Society supported by industry.
For chemists, despite the expansion of Higher
Education intake, we have seen a reduction in chemistry graduates
from 4,110 in 1994-05 to 3,215 in 2001-02 (table 2). Nearly all
the increase in degrees of relevance to the industry have been
in medicine and allied disciplines—the supply of physical
science graduates has largely stagnated (Figure 1).
Table 1:
CHANGE IN FUNDING OF UNIVERSITY COURSES ANNOUNCED
BY HEFCE ON 23 DECEMBER 2003
|
| Old funding
| Proposed funding
| |
|
| Price group | Weighting
| Funding unit (£)
| Weighting | Funding unit (£)
| % rise in
funding |
| Clinical studies | 4.5
| 12,750 | 4
| 13,600 | 6.67% |
| Laboratory courses | 2
| 5,667 | 1.7
| 5,780 | 2.00% |
| Intermediate cost subjects | 1.5
| 4,250 | 1.3
| 4,420 | 4.00% |
| Lecture-based courses | 1
| 2,833 | 1
| 3,400 | 20.00% |
|
Figure 1: Number of people graduating with first
degrees relevant to the pharmaceutical industry in the UK (taken
from Pharmaceutical Industry Competitiveness Task Force: competitiveness
and performance indicators 2003)
Source: HESA Student Record 1994-95 and 1999-2000 to 2002-03
From 2002-03, HESA moved over to a new method of apportioning
students to subjects and uses a new subject coding system (JACS).
This means that data for 2002-03 is not strictly comparable with
earlier years.
Table 2:
NUMBER OF FIRST DEGREE QUALIFICATIONS OBTAINED BY UNIVERSITY
STUDENTS IN THE SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (SOURCE: HIGHER EDUCATION
STATISTICS AGENCY)
|
| Year | Physics
| Mathematics | Chemistry
| Biology |
|
| 1994-95 | 2,551
| 3,435 | 4,110
| 3,712 |
| 1995-96 | 2,070
| 3,383 | 4,144
| 4,066 |
| 1996-97 | 2,530
| 3,114 | 3,753
| 4,398 |
| 1997-98 | 2,428
| 3,372 | 3,393
| 4,104 |
| 1998-99 | 2,439
| 3,638 | 3,624
| 4,035 |
| 1990-2000 | 2,400
| 3,550 | 3,420
| 4,230 |
| 2000-01 | 2,600
| 3,720 | 3,285
| 4,405 |
| 2001-02 | 2,330
| 3,725 | 3,215
| 3,915 |
|
The decline in chemistry graduates is of particular concern
as this reduces the pool of talent from which industry can draw,
and reduces the number that might progress to a teaching career.
Despite the continued relatively high funding for medical
science it has been reported that a 36% reduction in lecturer
posts has taken place in medical schools since 2000. As a result
it is likely that certain aspects of medicine will no longer be
taught in all medical schools putting patient care at risk[25].
New medicines only reach the market if their safety and efficacy
has been proven through clinical testing. Clinical pharmacologists
are essential members of the team which investigates safety in
man in early stage trials. In recent years teaching in clinical
pharmacology as part of a medical degree has reduced as this speciality
has become less important to the NHS, and those undertaking training
in clinical pharmacology tend to do this in order to become a
specialist in an area such as oncology or infectious diseases.
Hence the supply of clinical pharmacologists for the pharmaceutical
industry and contract research organisations is not being met.
The pharmaceutical industry has for a number of years provided
substantial financial support for a programme for specialist training
of registrars in academia and encouraging industry/academic links.
This programme has had some success in meeting the needs of the
pharmaceutical industry.
The human genome project has an enormous potential to improve
human health and quality of life. The development of new treatments
based on genomic discoveries will require many in vivo (whole
animal) studies to understand the function of novel genes and
to discover and develop new drugs that interact with them. The
pharmaceutical industry is very concerned that integrative in
vivo expertise is rapidly being lost from the academic sector
and is taking a lead in generating the in vivo pharmacologists
of tomorrow. The three largest R&D investors in the UK—AstraZeneca,
GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer—will be providing funds of over
£1 million per annum, with other companies joining. The objective
of the initiative is:
— to enhance the academic research and training
base for in vivo pharmacology, physiology and toxicology so industry
has:
— a pool of well trained scientists to recruit from;
and
— a vibrant research base to collaborate with.
For this programme to result in long term success additional
funding will be necessary. A significant increase in funding for
integrative systems and organism biology is now needed to allow
the potential of the human genome project to be realised and we
look to Government to provide this increased funding via the Research
Councils.
It is vital that the UK Funding Councils sustain graduate
science courses—if we are to develop the life science and
physical science PhDs of tomorrow we need a quality supply of
first degree science graduates.
EFFECT ON
SCIENCE TEACHING
IN SCHOOLS
The number of teachers employed to teach a single science
subject has more than halved since 1984, the vast majority of
science teachers are expected to teach all three subjects as part
of a "combined" science course, often up to GCSE level.
For chemistry, the number of teachers who have a degree in
the subject has also decreased, from 6,490 in 1984 to 3,744 in
2002. On the assumption that there should be a balance of expertise
in science teaching at GCSE (Key Stage 4), it was calculated that,
in 2002, approximately 8,350 chemistry teachers were required
to cover teaching at GCSE and A level, whereas only 4,680 teachers
in maintained schools had a degree, PGCE or BEd in chemistry.
The estimated shortfall of 3,670 teachers must mean that large
numbers of students are being taught chemistry by teachers without
a qualification in the subject[26].
Science teachers, particularly those teaching chemistry and
physics, tend to be older than their counterparts in other subjects.
Only 16% of chemistry teachers, and 17% of physics teachers, are
under 30, compared with 23% for non science subjects. In contrast
30% of chemistry teachers, and 29% of physics teachers, are over
50, indicating a potential shortage in teachers of these subjects
in the next 10 years.
The dearth of chemistry and physics teachers and the aging
cohort remaining in schools will inevitably lead to a further
decline in the number of pupils progressing from 16-19 education
into physical science courses at university.
The optimal balance between teaching and research provision
in universities, giving particular consideration to the desirability
and financial viability of teaching-only science departments
The current model of a university as an institution which
strives to carry out world class research and high quality undergraduate
teaching in all departments is unsustainable and unrealistic.
As participation in Higher Education is widened towards the target
of 50%, it is inevitable a large number of students will embark
on Higher Education courses without having appropriate study skills
and self motivation to complete the course. Currently all universities
market themselves on the same model, the needs of students would
be better met if institutions were to become distinctive in their
methods and in the opportunities they provide.
The ABPI would welcome the establishment of teaching only
departments in all regions to satisfy local needs. These should
work closely with RDAs and be well resourced and assessed on the
quality of teaching they provide. High quality teaching and research
departments are clearly also needed to provide well educated science
graduates and PhDs to meet the needs of academic and industrial
sectors.
The importance of maintaining a regional capacity in university
science teaching and research
Applications from UK students to study chemistry have been
declining steadily over the last 10 years. In 1993 4,110 applications
were made to study chemistry as a single subject, this had fallen
to 2,434 by 2003[27].
Indications are that there was a slight increase in applications
for 2004, but numbers are not yet available. As a percentage of
students applying for HE courses, the percentage has fallen from
1.7% in 1994 to 0.68% in 2003.[28]
In the past 18 months Kings College and Queen Mary in London,
Swansea, Exeter and Anglia Polytechnic University have announced
closure of their chemistry departments. Others are known to be
contemplating closure. In addition De Montford University, Leicester
took their last intake of students in 2002 and Kent in 2003.
For chemistry research and development the pharmaceutical
industry generally recruits first degree graduates who have completed
an MChem or MSci in the Chemical Sciences. In 2002 there were
1,150 graduates from these courses[29].
Geographical distribution of these courses is not uniform. In
2003, whereas 10 universities in the Midlands offered MChem/MSci
courses in chemical sciences, in Eastern Counties and the South,
only 2 did[30]. With
the recently announced closure of Swansea's department of chemistry,
Wales will also only have two institutions offering these courses.
The lack of regional provision for science teaching in Higher
Education has two major effects. Firstly, those students who do
not wish to live away from home have a reduced selection of courses
to study and, secondly, industry hoping to provide degree level
training for employees may not be able to do so. The introduction
of tuition fees for students and the anticipated increase in charges
once variable fees are introduced has prompted some pharmaceutical
companies to take on students with A levels or non-traditional
post-16 qualifications with the aim of supporting them to attain
higher qualifications through part time study. At one member company,
where this scheme has been running for four4 years in both biology
and chemistry departments, the employees study biology at the
University of Brighton and chemistry at Greenwich. In other parts
of the country such an arrangement would not be possible as the
travelling times involved would be too great. The biology students
have the opportunity to train in in vivo pharmacology as part
of this course.
A policy is required, driven by Government and by HEFCE that
will lead to co-operation between universities to ensure that
regional needs are met within a framework of national provision
for subjects of strategic importance.
The extent to which the Government should intervene to ensure
continuing provision of subjects of strategic national or regional
importance; and the mechanisms it should use for this purpose
It is very important that the Government intervenes to ensure
that subjects of strategic scientific importance are supported.
The life sciences are clearly an area of strength that must
be developed. But to sustain UK investment by pharmaceutical companies,
there must also be excellence in chemistry and a supply of quality
graduates.
Our concerns for the UK science base are:
— dwindling supply of scientists, especially chemists;
— lack of investment in science teaching infrastructure
owing to pressures of expansion of HE and the recent reduction
in funding qualifier for laboratory-based courses; and
— loss of capability in animal research owing to
underfunding, over-regulation and the threat of animal extremists.
Pharmaceutical R&D is a long term strategic investment.
The major pharmaceutical companies are global and have plenty
of options as to which countries to invest in. Confidence in the
UK continuing to have a world-class, diverse talent pool is a
prerequisite for such long term investment in the UK and chemists
are a key part of this scientific talent pool. Conversely, uncertainty
about the future talent pool will undermine such strategic investment.
Pharmaceutical companies can also choose where to recruit
from. The enlarged EU provides an opportunity to increase the
available talent pool for recruitment and will make it a more
competitive environment for UK trained scientists.
To achieve the aims set out above it is essential that Government
provides incentives to universities to increase in supply of science
graduates, particularly chemistry graduates. They are vital both
for the sustainability of the industry and that of other professions
such as teaching.
A national strategy for key subjects must replace the current
situation where local university finance determines the future
of education.
January 2005
22
HM Customs and Excise. Back
23
Annual Business Inquiry, Office for National Statistics. Back
24
ABPI Survey of member company collaborations with UK Higher Education
Institutions, unpublished data, December 2004. Back
25
Professor Michael Rees, Head of BMA's Academic Committee, reported
in The Times, 20.1.2005. Back
26
"Chemistry teachers" Smithers and Robinson, March 2004. Back
27
Digest of statistics of chemistry Education 2004, Royal Society
of Chemistry. Source Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
www.ucas.com Back
28
Digest of statistics of chemistry Education 2004, Royal Society
of Chemistry. Source Higher Education Statistics Agency www.hesa.ac.uk Back
29
Source HECC (74 institutions). Reported in "University chemical
sciences provision" Royal Society of Chemistry November 2003
www.rsc.org Back
30
"University chemical sciences provision" Royal Society
of Chemistry November 2003 www.rsc.org Back
| 
