The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has reportedly warned that the UK must continue to attract investment for research, or risk being surpassed by emerging markets.
According to ABPI Chief Executive Stephen Whitehead, today’s research often takes place internationally, and the international stage is changing. Global competition was increasing - the developing BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] economies in particular would attract greater investment in future, he added.
The ABPI’s move follows the publication of a report commissioned by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The report stated that health and medical sciences were among several areas of research in which the UK excelled, and gave a positive picture of R&D across the country.
However, the report cautions that research in the country may be excellent, but is ‘under pressure’ to maintain its current success. Its conclusions are based largely on the number of times the country’s researchers have their work cited in academic journals, and compares the UK to major or rising research powers: including the US, China, Germany, Japan, Brazil and India.
Headline data in the BIS International Comparative Performance of the UK Research Base 2011 report include the finding that UK research attracts more citations per pound spent in overall R&D than any other country - accounting for 14 percent of the world’s highly-cited articles, second only to research in the US.
UK research also has an international bent - in the 14 years to 2010, 63 percent of researchers here were affiliated to an institution in another country. Half of all UK articles since 2006 also have at least one non-UK author.
The ABPI and the NHS are currently collaborating on a new policy paper on innovation and research, which is expected to be published in December 2011.
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