HC 805 Pfizer's decision to close its research and development facility at Sandwich

Written evidence submitted by
The Royal Society of Chemistry (PZ 02)

The Future of Pharmaceutical Research in the UK

The UK Government has a vision to create a dynamic, knowledge-based economy that capitalises on our world-class science base for long term growth and social benefit. Healthcare is one of the key sectors where the UK has proven global competitive strengths. One in every six of the most popular prescription drugs were developed in the UK. In 2009, the pharmaceutical industry contributed £4.4 bn in R&D [1] . In addition, this sector generated a positive trade balance of £7 bn. No other sector made larger contributions to the UK economy in terms of trade balance and investment in R&D [2] . The UK’s position must be sustained to face the medical challenges of the 21st Century.

The RSC believes that to enable this, the establishment of a range of dedicated drug discovery units (at a cost of approximately £1 bn over 10 years) is essential, particularly where they are able to capitalise on existing state of the art facilities or pools of talent. This investment would enable the UK to tackle areas of growing unmet medical need (e.g. obesity, Alzheimer’s and infectious diseases); it would also be used to secure the UK’s leadership in high tech research for innovative healthcare (e.g. diagnostics, personalised medicine, translational science and regenerative medicine).

There is an increasing demand for cost effective new drugs to meet the high medical needs of the 21st Century. Not only are many diseases that incur significant healthcare costs still poorly treated but we are facing an increasing disease burden of an ageing population. However, pressure on healthcare budgets, increased regulatory and safety demands coupled with patent expiries have forced downsizing in UK pharmaceutical R&D that threatens the UK as a leader in healthcare innovation. The potential negative consequences will impede the discovery of new medicines as well as impacting economic growth and productive employment of world class scientists. There will also be widespread negative impact on the scientific academic and biotech sectors.

It is vital that the UK is able to reconfigure world class scientists in existing and new facilities to discover cost effective new drugs that satisfy high medical need, improve quality of life and provide a realistic return on investment. However, the scale of the research investment gap as a result of downsizing cannot simply be filled by academia, public private partnerships and charities, nor by the biotech sector without a major prioritisation of new funding from the Government.

Recommendations for supporting innovation:

Access to excellence in academic research is an enabler for a knowledge-based economy and provides an important stimulus for continued inward investment. The UK is home to three of the top 10 universities in the world and 14 of the top 100, a stable of quality service providers, world class research charities and a rich heritage of globally recognised medical research.

· Government must continue to support the basic science that underpins drug discovery through the MRC, BBSRC and EPSRC to ensure that there is a strong supply of science graduates and a foundation of stimulating basic research.

‘Pump prime’ funding is required from the Government, charitable organizations and private sector to re-establish the UK’s pre-eminent role in healthcare innovation through focused and nimble drug discovery units

· Establishment of a range of dedicated drug discovery units (at a cost of approximately £1 bn over 10 years), which should focus on addressing specific disease areas (for example, but not limited to, Alzheimers, obesity and infectious diseases) as well as medical technologies (such as diagnostics, personalised medicines). These could be localised where they are able to capitalise on existing state-of-the-art facilities or pools of talent.

· Initiatives to capitalise on the assets, talent and facilities no longer being pursued by the pharmaceutical companies in the UK are also needed.

Recommendations for a unique, positive business environment in the UK

The high density of industry, academia and healthcare provides the UK with a distinctive collaborative advantage. In addition, a positive business environment is also needed for positioning the UK as an ideal location for discovering, developing and trialling new medicines.

· Knowledge transfer and collaboration must be catalysed and supported by strengthening the position of pharmaceutical research within Government initiatives (such as the UK's Knowledge Transfer Networks and the Technology Strategy Board).

· Increased investment should be made available for SMEs operating in the pharmaceutical sector to provide financial and environmental support for the creation, growth and sustainability of these businesses for continued success in drug discovery.

· The healthcare community should prioritise disease targets that reflect national needs and interests, develop efficacy and safety parameters for new drugs that would justify reimbursement before long term research programmes have been undertaken.

· The Patent box is an excellent example of how joint working across Government and industry can provide measures to improve the UK business environment for life sciences companies. A range of mutually stimulating incentives is needed to ensure the UK maintains a globally competitive environment.

· In addition, the UK Government must show leadership at a European level (e.g. with respect to influencing funding and developing regulations) to support the regulation and innovation that makes the UK a stable and predictable economic and regulatory climate for discovering, developing and trialling new medicines.

Royal Society of Chemistry

February 2011