The British Pharmaceutical Industry Since 1851
T.A.B. Corley
Centre for International Business History,
University of Reading
Britain’s pharmaceutical
industry, like its petroleum industry, is one which possesses a
national comparative advantage both technologically and in the
balance of overseas trade; yet it is not easy to delineate. Until
quite recently, some member companies also made ranges of
different products such as foodstuffs, household goods and heavy
chemicals. Moreover, many producers in the UK are subsidiaries of
overseas pharmaceutical corporations. Even so, the companies
involved do form a recognisable industry, competing among
themselves in the field of high-technology health care.
The outlines of such an industry began to emerge in the 1930s but
became far more distinct after 1948 when the National Health
Service (NHS) was set up. Official policies of actively
encouraging the technological leaders – foreign as well as British
– at the expense of the less adventurous followers, through its
pricing and clinical testing rules for prescription drugs, allowed
those comparative advantages to be built up. Vigorous competition
flourishes also in marketing and in distribution to retail
chemists
and to other outlets for both ethical drugs and ‘over the counter’
remedies.
This article outlines some of the principal changes that have
taken place from 1851 onwards in the systems of manufacture and
distribution of these medicines. It also addresses the question of
how and why the transformation occurred from low- to high2
technology production, from small to large scale, and from
dependence on imports of advanced drugs to a high degree of
self-sufficiency at home.
Quality
