Pharmaceuticals are one of Britain’s leading manufacturing sectors, bringing in a trade surplus of more than £4.3 billion for the UK economy.

Yet we are low in the league of medicines expenditure: we spend much less than many of our European neighbors on the medicines we use. But our two largest pharmaceutical companies are among the most successful in the world.

In a global industry such as pharmaceuticals, it is important to be in the Big League. An analysis of the world’s top 100 medicines reveals that, after the USA, Britain’s pharmaceutical companies’ market share is as large as its European competitors combined. Despite this success, new medicines are not always readily available through the NHS; clinicians in other countries are far more likely to prescribe medicines that have come on to the market in the past five years.

For more information, visit: The Pharmaceutical Industry section of the website.