In a recent study, 49% of UK Members of Parliament of all parties had a favourable view of the pharma industry while 18% were very favourable. Only 16% of the MPs described their opinions of the industry as mainly unfavourable and 17% held no views.
Of 2,000 UK adults who were asked the same question, 51% opined that they were favourably disposed toward the sector and just 14% held unfavourable views. The positive views of the industry were based on use of medicines, either by themselves or someone else and the industry was generally admired for its R&D and life-saving medicines. But the industry’s perceived excessive profits, pricing policies and activities in Africa and the Third World generated a widespread dislike among people.
Roger Stubbs, deputy managing director and head of business research at Ipsos Mori, said that recent research by the company has revealed a ‘sea change’ in the factors which business journalists take into account when judging pharmaceutical companies. According to him, quality and range of products, which always had priority status, have now become even more important. While the second and fourth most important factors – R&D spending and investment and financial performance – are declining, the third factor, the company’s trade record, has assumed much greater importance.