Sharp focus

From caution to confidence – reframing the UK launch opportunity

For much of the last five years, the story the industry told about the UK was a cautionary one: a NICE threshold frozen since 1999 and an unpredictable VPAG scheme, with over-cap rates reaching 23.5% and more. This led to a shrinking share of global launches, with investment decisions paused or pulled.

Patient access compared unfavourably with some other countries; for example, only 37% of new medicines were fully available to NHS patients, compared with 90% funded in Germany. From 2017 to 2023, life sciences foreign direct investment into the UK shrank by 58%.

That narrative is now out of date. In a recent report, the ABPI highlighted evidence of ‘green shoots’, with the UK beginning to reverse years of decline through the sustained delivery of government commitments, including an additional £2 billion of investment spanning AI-enabled discovery science through to medicines manufacturing.

The UK remains a world-class academic base, with top-tier universities and real-world data assets. Several recent policy shifts have also changed the picture for the better:

1. An aligned MHRA-NICE pathway, accelerating access by 3-6 months.

2. Higher NICE cost-effectiveness thresholds, now raised to £25,000–£35,000 per QALY.

3. A new UK-US pharmaceuticals arrangement, including zero tariffs on UK pharmaceutical exports to the US and a commitment to increase innovative medicines spending, ensuring that the newer medicines payment rate in the VPAG scheme does not exceed 15% of sales revenue for three years.

4. Faster trial initiation: from 169 to 122 days, ahead of the O’Shaughnessy-driven 150-day target.

5. A single national formulary, replacing varied local formularies with one national standard, which would speed up medicines adoption, supported by a digital guide by July 2027.

One of the most challenging areas for business unit directors, marketers and new product planners has been securing early investment from global teams to build the groundwork required for a successful launch.

The policy changes listed above provide a solid base to argue that the UK should be considered a priority for investment and potentially move earlier in global launch sequencing.

Key to deploying global investment is the prioritisation of a carefully curated process that embodies three critical success factors:

1. MSLs in place ideally 2-3 years prior to launch
Goal: Build scientific partnerships with purpose and understand barriers to patient access in the health system.
How: Supplement traditional MSL activities with key local access questions and capabilities that will help inform market access strategy.

2. Market access resource in place at least 1-2 years prior to launch
Goal: Build a robust market access strategy aligned with local access and health system priorities, with clarity on patient access barriers and how these need to be mitigated.
How: Map local stakeholders and processes for formulary uptake, including prescribing guidelines, pathways and optimal care settings.

3. Early external assessment of your brand’s probability of success
Goal: Build confidence in your initial market forecast and send clear signals to global teams on the investment required for rapid NHS uptake.

How: Use early due diligence reports backed by primary research, ensuring insight is aligned to NHS priorities. This maps brand strengths and weaknesses, tests access assumptions and identifies the areas that need action.

In summary, embedding these critical success factors into integrated launch preparation allows UK teams to challenge global caution and build a stronger, more confident case for early investment.