Broken Promises: Pharma’s Disillusionment with UK Government’s Vision

The pharmaceutical industry is expressing deep disillusionment with the UK government, arguing that its vision for a thriving life sciences sector is being undermined by a lack of concrete action and broken promises. Companies that were once encouraged by ministerial rhetoric are now pausing investments due to a failure to see “tangible progress.”
This sense of broken promises is exemplified by Sanofi’s experience. The company was “heartened” by the health secretary’s plans just six months ago and explored expanding its UK operations. Now, that optimism has vanished, replaced by a hard-nosed demand for real policy changes before any new capital is committed.
The core of the disillusionment is the gap between the government’s ambition to be a “science superpower” and the reality of its policies on the ground. The industry sees a government that talks about innovation while maintaining a 25-year-old pricing system and spending less on medicines than most of its competitors.
To bridge this credibility gap, the government must align its actions with its words. It needs to deliver the “proper plan” that the industry has been calling for—one that goes beyond vision statements and implements the specific, competitive reforms needed to make the UK an attractive place for investment once again.