An Interview about the Pharmaceutical Sector
In this insightful interview, our Pharmaceutical Sector lead, Ralfe Ribeiro, shares his thoughts on the current state of the Pharmaceutical Sector.
Get to know our Pharmaceutical Sector Lead: Ralfe Ribeiro
Ralfe joined Henley Research International, part of the Henley Insights Group in 2021. His career started in the lab, where he attained his PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology and Pharmacology. He is currently the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Lead for Henley Insights Group and is hoping to use his scientific expertise to help develop long-standing relationships with high profile pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
What does the UK Pharmaceutical sector look like right now?
“Pharmaceuticals value added output in the UK levelled off in 2021 after a strong 13.6% increase in 2020, which still leaves it 13% above the 2019 pre-pandemic level. An incredibly important factor to closely monitor is the impact of Brexit, as border checks and regulatory burdens will impact some businesses via increases in costs and delayed delivery of goods. Some businesses have already started to move their operations to other European countries in order to retain easier market access in the EU.”
How much would you say COVID has impacted the trends we see in the Pharmaceutical sector?
“COVID-19 vaccine production is likely to remain high in the coming years, as a large share of the global population has not yet been vaccinated. Any emergence of new virus variants may also bring out the need for additional rounds of booster vaccinations. The vaccination rollout and demand for pandemic-related drugs (e.g. medications to treat fever, drugs for intensive care) has driven growth, resulting in high profit margin increases for producers, and to a lesser extent for wholesalers and pharmacies.”
Do you see any emerging trends in the UK Pharmaceutical sector?
“This may be applicable to Global Pharmaceuticals as well, but I expect that an increase in the ageing population in many developed markets will create increasing demand for over-the counter (OTC) medicines, generics and brand name pharmaceutical products. Demand for chronic disease medicines is also expected to grow in the mid- and long-term. R&D, as always, continues to remain a strong growth area in the UK. The UK government has also recently announced that over £200 million of state funding will be committed to support clinical research and the manufacturing of new drugs, devices and diagnostics.”
Are there any locations in the UK besides London where we can find pharmaceutical workers and employers?
“This is a great question and the short and sweet answer is that there are a couple of key locations for Pharma in the UK, including Oxford, Cambridge and, of course, London. However, the North West is also a key player as a manufacturing hubs for UK pharmaceutical companies, with 38% of the output and 43% of the UK pharmaceutical turnover being generated there, including AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline (according to a report conducted by Enterprise Ireland in 2019).”
What is the current state of play of diversity in the UK pharmaceutical sector?
“According to a report by Accenture, a growing number of pharmas in the UK are redefining and tailoring UK-specific ED&I strategies. This is being done in a number of ways, but the most important one is that leadership is taking an active ownership of the ED&I agenda, which is reflected in their own representation, especially from a gender perspective. Going beyond leadership, UK pharmaceutical companies are increasingly starting to collect workforce ED&I data, which is then being used by some companies to generate insight and inform action-planning which guarantees that ED&I resources are effectively used to address the needs of their workforce and any potential gaps.”