UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
GSK’s Emma Walmsley warns Britain must reform how it pays for medicines if it is to become a life-sciences superpower
The outgoing chief executive of GSK, Emma Walmsley, has cautioned that the United Kingdom’s aspiration to become a “life sciences superpower” will falter unless significant reform of drug pricing is achieved.
Her remarks come as ministers consider raising the amount the National Health Service spends on new medicines by up to 25 per cent.
Walmsley emphasised the need for the UK to create a competitive commercial environment if it is to secure the patient access to innovation that both government and industry desire.
“Without that, it’s going to be very difficult to be able to be a leading life sciences superpower,” she said.
She noted that the NHS currently spends less than 10 per cent of its budget on medicines, a lower share than some peer countries, and said that resolving the ongoing standoff between the government and pharmaceutical firms is both “hopeful and ambitious”.
Her warning intersects with a complex international context: firms are under pressure from the Donald Trump administration in the United States to reduce prices and ramp up U.S. investment, and global pricing dynamics mean decisions made in the UK resonate far beyond its borders.
Science minister Patrick Vallance recently told parliament that “some degree of price increase” for innovative medicines was “inevitable,” and that additional NHS funding would be required if that path were to be followed.
Walmsley reaffirmed GSK’s commitment to the UK’s life sciences strategy, contrasting with some pharmaceutical groups that have paused or withdrawn UK investments.
Meanwhile, GSK itself upgraded its 2025 sales and profit forecasts, driven by growth in respiratory, immunology, oncology and HIV treatments, with the company reporting a third-quarter pre-tax profit of £2.5 billion compared with £64 million a year earlier.
The UK government finds itself at a pivotal moment: it must deliver a drug-pricing framework that balances sustainability for the NHS with incentives for innovation, while preserving the United Kingdom’s attractiveness as a hub for research, development and manufacturing.
Industry analysts warn that failure to secure this clarity could risk investment flight and undermine the broader life sciences goal.
With Walmsley scheduled to hand over to her successor, Luke Miels, at the end of the year, the message from one of the sector’s most prominent leaders is clear: reform cannot wait if the UK is to realise its life-science ambitions.
Her remarks come as ministers consider raising the amount the National Health Service spends on new medicines by up to 25 per cent.
Walmsley emphasised the need for the UK to create a competitive commercial environment if it is to secure the patient access to innovation that both government and industry desire.
“Without that, it’s going to be very difficult to be able to be a leading life sciences superpower,” she said.
She noted that the NHS currently spends less than 10 per cent of its budget on medicines, a lower share than some peer countries, and said that resolving the ongoing standoff between the government and pharmaceutical firms is both “hopeful and ambitious”.
Her warning intersects with a complex international context: firms are under pressure from the Donald Trump administration in the United States to reduce prices and ramp up U.S. investment, and global pricing dynamics mean decisions made in the UK resonate far beyond its borders.
Science minister Patrick Vallance recently told parliament that “some degree of price increase” for innovative medicines was “inevitable,” and that additional NHS funding would be required if that path were to be followed.
Walmsley reaffirmed GSK’s commitment to the UK’s life sciences strategy, contrasting with some pharmaceutical groups that have paused or withdrawn UK investments.
Meanwhile, GSK itself upgraded its 2025 sales and profit forecasts, driven by growth in respiratory, immunology, oncology and HIV treatments, with the company reporting a third-quarter pre-tax profit of £2.5 billion compared with £64 million a year earlier.
The UK government finds itself at a pivotal moment: it must deliver a drug-pricing framework that balances sustainability for the NHS with incentives for innovation, while preserving the United Kingdom’s attractiveness as a hub for research, development and manufacturing.
Industry analysts warn that failure to secure this clarity could risk investment flight and undermine the broader life sciences goal.
With Walmsley scheduled to hand over to her successor, Luke Miels, at the end of the year, the message from one of the sector’s most prominent leaders is clear: reform cannot wait if the UK is to realise its life-science ambitions.
