The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has established a new Inward Investor Group to demonstrate the importance of inward investment to the U.K. and the global mobility of such investment. The group also will work toward cultivating a favorable environment for pharmaceutical companies to invest in the U.K.

Each company in this group invests in manufacturing and/or research facilities in the U.K.—investment that could be transferred anywhere in the world. Collectively, they employ over 7,000 across 20 sites in manufacturing and research.

“I am delighted with the opportunity to lead the Inward Investors Group on behalf of the ABPI,” said Steve Arnold, managing director of UCB in the British and Irish Isles. “The government has made great progress in their support for the life sciences over the last five years and we will continue to work constructively to ensure that the U.K. remains a natural destination when global chief executives make difficult investment decisions. I believe this group will play a central role in this debate and also help government ensure the U.K. remains globally competitive—retaining existing investment and bringing more research here in future.”

Stephen Whitehead, ABPI’s chief executive said, “The pharmaceutical industry is the jewel in the U.K.’s scientific and industrial crown. The formation of this group presents an opportunity to ensure that this remains the case by bringing together the collective views of inward investors and looking at specific policies to make the U.K. more attractive.”

“The U.K. life sciences strategy showed that there have been successes, but we also need to be realistic in our appraisal and acknowledge that a lot more needs to be done to ensure that patients truly benefit from the innovation that exists in the life sciences sector,” he said. “I believe that the Inward Investor Group can be a catalyst in achieving this.”

Members of the ABPI Inward Investor Group are Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, Ipsen, Janssen, Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi and UCB

The ABPI represents innovative research-based biopharmaceutical companies, large, medium and small in the U.K. Its members supply 90% of all medicines used by the NHS.