The pharmaceutical industry in Britain has an impressive reputation based on a long history of achievement. On average, it takes around 10 to 12 years and £550 million to develop a new medicine, with no guarantee that a medicine will go on to be a commercial success. The international renown of the sector relies on a solid science base, dedicated researchers and notable business strengths that match the very best in the world. Major new advances in treatment developed in British laboratories offer entirely new opportunities to treat disease and ill health and benefit patients all over the world This section of our website gives you a selected range of statistics about the pharmaceutical industry, both in the United Kingdom and overseas.

The following charts and statistics give an overview of the pharmaceutical industry in the UK and in the wider world. As more recent information becomes available, the data will be revised and updated.

Section 1 - A global industry

Section 2 - Pharmaceuticals and the UK economy

Section 3 - Research and Development

Section 4 - Medicines and the NHS

The following sections give more details about the pharmaceutical industry, but some of the most important facts about its contributions to the health and wealth of the people of the United Kingdom are set out below.

Medicines for a healthy future

Value for money

• The pharmaceutical industry provides the nation's medicines to the NHS at a daily cost of just 56 pence per person
• Medicines account for only about 11 per cent of total NHS costs, despite a constant growth every year in the number of prescriptions issued
• Modern medicines offer real value for money - in real terms, medicines prices are around 21 per cent lower than 10 years ago.
• The annual cost of medicines prescribed by GPs in Britain is about £205 per person - much less than the cost in France, Germany, Japan or the USA
• Sales to the NHS in 2005 were £10.4 billion. ABPI member companies supply around 80 per cent of the medicines prescribed on the NHS

The economics of success

• The industry invested £3.2 billion in UK research and development in 2004- nearly £9 million every day
• Pharmaceutical companies carry out nearly a quarter of all industrial research and development in the UK, and spend more than 20 per cent of their gross output on R&D
• Nearly 20 per cent of the world's top medicines were discovered and developed in Britain
• Twelve out the top 25 medicines prescribed by GPs on the NHS are British
• Pharmaceutical industry exports in 2005 were £12.2 billion, creating a trade surplus of £3.4 billion
• The industry employs around 73,000 people and generates another 250,000 jobs in related industries