ABPI Conference 2025

ABPI Conference 2025 Blog

Once again, the 2025 annual ABPI Conference delivered a wealth of insightful and thought-provoking discussions - this year centred around the theme of ‘Health growth and renewal’. The in-person atmosphere reflected a strong sense of engagement, with many attendees declaring that this was the most impactful conference to date!

The faculty was honoured to welcome a range of captivating speakers, including The Rt Hon. the Lord Darzi of Denham and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting. They tackled the key issues that could be holding the UK back from being able to minimise the burden of chronic conditions on the NHS, as well as how we can meet R&D targets, utilise population data, manage the risks around antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and reduce health inequalities.

The conference kicked off with welcome and introductions from Dr Richard Torbett MBE (ABPI Chief Executive) and Russell Abberley (ABPI Acting President and Amgen UK and Ireland General Manager), highlighting the government’s commitment to making the UK a life sciences powerhouse and early launch country. They noted that the VPAG review and the NHS 10-year plan could unlock vital opportunities for investment, research, and partnerships.

Health: Pharmaceutical innovation and the NHS 10-year plan

Tim Sheppard (IQVIA) emphasised the need to prepare for both known issues - including obesity, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and cancer - and the emerging threats, such as pandemics and AMR, stressing that innovation is essential to deliver the NHS 10-year plan.

For example, obesity is expected to grow by 25%, and alongside diabetes, could soon dominate healthcare spending. With 157 treatments in obesity, there will be more innovation to fund and manage in this complex environment, but with an estimated burden of £98bn, the NHS can’t afford not to treat.

Despite its urgency, innovation remains difficult to adopt, adding strain to an already pressured system. Private prescriptions are up 46% (25% without diabetes) while only 9% of patients who are eligible for patient support programmes (PSP) are actually enrolled. Tim proposed the following approaches:

1.      Optimise care pathways.

2.      Provide value beyond the PSP.

3.      Embrace outcome-based contracting - measure the impact of innovation on system outcomes rather than volume-based.

4.      Engage beyond the KOL – manager and leaders who know what needs to change.

5.      Be bolder with investments.

The discussion panel highlighted that whilst the UK is world-leading in many areas (e.g., gene therapy), there is much to do. Key solutions such as enhanced horizon scanning, taking a pathway approach, pharma engaging earlier with NICE, updated NICE guidance, using surrogate study outputs, embracing biosimilars earlier, creative service delivery, shifting to the community, improving our understanding of real-world impact and closer MHRA-NICE collaboration are areas to embrace that will drive change.

Growth: How the UK can win the global race for investment

A panel led by Lord Harrington (Chair, Make UK) explored how the UK can win the global race for investment. Our Future Health was highlighted as a potential driver for foreign investment, with its goal of engaging 5 million participants, and thus creating data relevant to global health.

Patient organisations, where many smaller groups are at risk of folding, are key investment areas. They can provide input in discovery and marketing processes, meeting regulatory requirements, multiplicity of voices and real-world evidence, leading to a greater chance of reimbursement, treatment access, better health outcomes, and ultimately the ability for patients to participate in society.

Renewal: Building UK attractiveness for industry clinical research

The panel emphasised making the UK the top destination for industry clinical research, focusing on embedding research within the NHS. Research centres should foster a research culture, learning from examples like the Shelford group, which has built networks with NHS trusts to share best practices in service delivery.

VPAG was referred to throughout the day and acknowledging that improvements are needed to support these initiatives. VPAG investment could increase research focus, e.g., protected time for staff to support the shift of research in the community.

Commercial research is vital, but what can industry learn from non-commercial research? Re-educating investigators on what makes a good site, focusing on relevant research, engaging rising stars, and reaching disadvantaged communities will help foster a strong UK research culture.

AMR: Managing the global challenge

On AMR, Lord Darzi painted a very sobering picture of how this global issue is a huge risk to society as a cause of global warming and a barrier to successful treatment, with potentially devastating outcomes for cancer patients who otherwise would be within a curative window. AI may play its part in working out how to deliver antibiotics that evade resistance. Industry needs to help tackle this and shift the trillions that are predicted to be spent on sepsis and AMR to fund cancer treatments instead.

Look North: Learns from Norway in reducing health inequalities

Regarding health inequalities and considering all the causes of death, many are largely preventable, but the more preventable the more inequalities are likely to come into play.

Professor Terji Andreas Eikemo (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) stated that at the current rate of social mobility, it would take 5 generations in the UK for children to move up the social ladder. In Scandinavian countries, this is predicted to take only 2-3 generations. The Norwegian Health System, which was shaped initially by NHS standards back in 1939/40, can be seen as a reminder of what is still possible with the values that underpin this institution.

Historically, it has been shown that where the UK government was committed to tackling health inequalities, the gap between the poorest and the rest of society started to close, so it is entirely possible to improve this.

The Marmot approach:

There are many initiatives taking great strides in making this a reality. The Marmot approach is a framework focused on reducing health inequalities by addressing the social determinants of health. Professor Sir Michael Marmot (Director Institute of Health Equity) revealed how this framework is now being tailored to over 50 local authorities (‘Marmot Places’) across the country, and its aims are to drive action based on eight Marmot Principles.

Growing up in Digital Europe Initiative:

The free ‘Growing up in digital Europe’ initiative is the first European-wide longitudinal study that is projected to provide answers. Initiated in 2015 and running until 2053, this will be one of the largest surveys in Europe that will track and offer insights on the well-being of children as they grow up to 24 years of age. The UK would benefit from investing in such initiatives and taking leadership.

Keynote: Wes Streeting

The energy and attendance in the room remained at a high for the duration of the conference in anticipation of the guest appearance by Wes Streeting, for the Keynote session.

Wes stressed what an honour it was to be invited to the conference and reiterated that the 10-year plan is due to be published in June, which, in combination with the life sciences sector plan and the Chancellor's spending review, will unlock potential for industry. VPAG will be looked at again in June rather than at the autumn review point, due to it not meeting industry and government expectations.  

Industry will be essential to the government in recovering the NHS. The three big shifts to achieving this will be:

-          Hospital > community

-          Analogue > digital

-          Treatment > prevention health ecosystem

As the conference drew to a close, Wes emphasised the need to rethink investment in medicines, data, and the role of life sciences. Ideas such as single-payer models, reducing barriers to work with the private sector, assurance full patient data access, secure and ethical data use, and empowering patients with their own data, with the ultimate goal of providing the best care for everyone.