Press Release

London, UK 14 October 2021 – IQVIA (NYSE: IQV), a global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and clinical research services to the life sciences industry, announced that data based on an IQVIA survey of 216 senior level global industry stakeholders shows that confidence in the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for clinical trials and new medicines launches has increased, despite the challenges of the pandemic and the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Conducted by IQVIA UK, the survey confirms that while challenges remain, industry believes the UK has passed the first test in establishing that it can remain an attractive destination for medicines research and commercial launches.

Nearly 90 percent of respondents expect clinical research and medicines launch activity to increase or remain at the same level over the next four years – this is a markedly more optimistic picture to that painted by two previous waves of IQVIA ‘global attractiveness of the UK for trials and medicines launch’ surveys in 2017 and 2018. Almost three quarters of pharmaceutical and biotech C-suite executives in the 2021 survey stated that the UK will remain a first or early medicines launch destination, meaning National Health Service patients will be amongst the first in the world to access innovative new medicines.

65 percent of C-Suite respondents are aware of the MHRA’s new regulatory and access initiatives, with 34 percent confirming the MHRA as its priority regulator, and 22 percent planning to submit for licensing to the European Medicines Agency and the MHRA simultaneously. These results cement the MHRA’s position as a leading global regulatory authority. This is despite the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Compared with the previous IQVIA surveys, the latest research findings indicate that the global HQ perception of the UK as a research and launch country has actually improved in the wake of Brexit. The research findings present an overwhelmingly positive outlook for the UK life sciences industry, confirming both its importance as a key launch and clinical research destination in the highly competitive global life sciences sector.

The UK is now at a critical inflection point, with EU exit and pandemic recovery providing an impetus for life sciences transformation. The country has demonstrated its capabilities and potential for delivery – as such there is new optimism amongst global industry HQs. With the UK Life Sciences Vision setting out the Government’s commitment to making the UK a global “life sciences superpower” – the UK must now have a laser sharp focus on policy implementation.

Crucially, the UK must fully restart non-COVID-19 trials in areas such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and rare disease and embed COVID-19 learnings into all aspects of clinical research, if it is to deliver on the Government’s ambitions to become a “life sciences superpower”.

Key data highlights from the survey:

• 76% of respondents confirm that the UK is the same, or more attractive as a clinical research destination post-Brexit (vs. just 3% in 2017 and 2018), and 79% believe the UK will remain a priority medicines launch country for their respective companies
• 74% stated that the UK will be a first /early launch market in the next three years (Tier-1)
• 88% expect UK-based clinical trials activity and product launches will increase or remain the same over the next four years
• 81% of respondents confirmed that leaving the EU has made the UK at least the same or more attractive for medicines launches
• 94% of responders who were aware of recent Government policies saw the Government’s recent Life Sciences Vision as having a positive impact on UK attractiveness for research

The research focused on the global life sciences sector’s current and future appetite for investing in clinical research and launching medicines within the UK and was conducted in the form of an online survey entitled: Global Research on the Overall Attractiveness of the UK for Clinical Research and Medicines Launches. The findings of the research and their implications for the UK Life sciences sector are explored in a White Paper commissioned by IQVIA entitled ‘Putting Policy into Practice: Making the UK a Global Life Sciences Superpower’.

The survey was created in consultation with the UK Government’s Office for Life Science and the Bioindustry Association.

George Freeman, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, said: "These survey results are a fantastic endorsement of the UK life sciences sector and our Life Sciences Strategy published this summer.

Through the UK’s reputation for cutting-edge research, world-leading regulators and our life-saving NHS, we will bring more clinical research and innovative treatments and technologies to our shores – which could help deliver better care and patient outcomes across the UK.”

Tim Sheppard, UK GM and SVP Northern Europe, said: “We are very encouraged that the UK has emerged from the challenges of the pandemic and Brexit in such robust form in the eyes of senior global industry decision makers. Pragmatic regulation and access strategies by the MHRA, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NHS England and the Office for Life Sciences, innovative approaches to clinical development and cross-sector collaboration during the pandemic have really paid off for the UK at this difficult time. Our White paper ‘Putting Policy into Practice makes recommendations about how this momentum is maintained as we approach this critical inflection point for the UK.”

Dr June Raine, Chief Executive of the MHRA, said: “We are extremely encouraged by the findings of this survey and the strong vote of confidence it gives to the MHRA and the United Kingdom’s regulatory processes which are vitally important to our role in patient safety. We look forward to our continued and important work with our international stakeholders and the wider healthcare system, ensuring the UK remains the market of choice for life sciences and delivering innovative medicines and medical devices to patients.”

Steve Bates OBE, Chief Executive of the BioIndustry Association (BIA) said: “Biotech and life science companies have demonstrated their value in the greatest global public health crisis of recent times by finding the vaccines, therapies and diagnostics needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sector has real momentum with unprecedented private and public investment underpinned by the recent Life Sciences Sector vision, which sets an ambitious target for the UK to be the leading global location for the life sciences businesses to innovate, grow and deliver breakthroughs to patients. Catalysing this golden age of investment and innovation will be crucial in turning the UK biotech and life sciences sector into a key industry of the 21st Century.”

About IQVIA in the UK

IQVIA believes in the UK’s potential to be a global leader in the life sciences sector, and our investments announced in the 2018 Second Life Sciences Sector Deal further support the UK Government and the industry’s aim to make that potential a reality. IQVIA is a leading player in, and committed to, the UK’s life sciences Sector. The value of our contributions to patients, the NHS and the UK economy include:

• Largest provider of commercial clinical trials in the UK
• Helping to develop 93% of pharmaceutical and 82% of biotech oncology drugs through our clinical research programmes
• Supporting the UK life sciences ecosystem through a £45 million investment over five years in the Second Life Sciences Sector Deal in 2018
• Conducting research in over 200 NHS clinical trial locations, including four Prime Sites (health data-enabled clinical research sites) across the UK, along with collaborating with Genomics England and Health Data Research UK’s (HDR UK) BREATHE and DATA-CAN hubs

About IQVIA

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) is a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry. IQVIA creates intelligent connections across all aspects of healthcare through its analytics, transformative technology, big data resources and extensive domain expertise. IQVIA Connected Intelligence™ delivers powerful insights with speed and agility — enabling customers to accelerate the clinical development and commercialization of innovative medical treatments that improve healthcare outcomes for patients. With approximately 74,000 employees, IQVIA conducts operations in more than 100 countries.

IQVIA is a global leader in protecting individual patient privacy. The company uses a wide variety of privacy-enhancing technologies and safeguards to protect individual privacy while generating and analyzing information on a scale that helps healthcare stakeholders identify disease patterns and correlate with the precise treatment path and therapy needed for better outcomes. IQVIA’s insights and execution capabilities help biotech, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies, medical researchers, government agencies, payers, and other healthcare stakeholders tap into a deeper understanding of diseases, human behaviors, and scientific advances, in an effort to advance their path toward cures. To learn more, visit www.iqvia.com.

Media Enquiries

Chris Welsh/Jessica Hodgson, Consilium Strategic Communications (iqvia@consilium-comms.com)
+44 (0)203 709 5700