Espicom's in-depth pharmaceutical market reports are ideal for executives wanting to understand the key drivers in pharmaceutical markets and have access to a wealth of statistical data. Each report opens with an outlook section that provides analysis of the market, 5-year market forecasts, national data projections, market outlook and key developments such as regulation, pricing/reimbursement, intellectual property, health facilities and government policy. The report also provides extensive background information, population trends, health status, health expenditure, organisation & administration, hospital services, medical personnel, healthcare development, market access information, trade data for raw materials and finished products and essential industry contacts. Included with the report are 3 free quarterly updated outlook reports, enabling you to keep up to date with market developments for a year. The UK is one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world. It is also home to two of the sector's largest companies; GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca. Behind these, there are a large number of smaller companies specialising in R&D and biotech products.

Access to the UK pharmaceutical market is in line with other EU member states regarding the regulatory environment, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) under the Department of Health is responsible for the processing of drug registration. Much has been made recently of the close links between branches of the government and the pharmaceutical industry as to whether the Department of Health can remain objective when the Department of Trade & Industry is actively promoting the pharmaceutical industry.

The introduction of a new pharmaceutical pricing scheme at the beginning of 2005 was seen as a limited change in price structure. The scheme rewards companies that are able to document R&D development, thereby being able to offset imposed profit limitations on R&D.

The trade in pharmaceuticals has increased year by year, large increases were notable in 2003 and 2004. The import of pharmaceuticals in 2005 decreased negligably by 0.2% to US$15.7 billion, and exports also decreased by 2.6% to be valued at US$20.9 billion.