Medicines and vaccines developed by the pharmaceutical industry are transforming the lives of millions of people, every day.

Medicines and vaccines developed by the pharmaceutical industry are transforming the lives of millions of people, every day.

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The pharmaceutical industry is dedicated to developing effective vaccines that benefit people's health, the economy and society.

Vaccination has saved more lives and prevented more serious diseases than any other advance in recent medical history. It has also enabled the economy to thrive and reduced the burden on the NHS.

See why the work of the pharmaceutical industry is crucial to the health of the UK and rest of the world.

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Our impact

Prioritising safety

Vaccines take between 6 months and 3 years to manufacture. 70% of that time is due to quality control.2

Economic progress

The value to society of the first ten vaccines provided on the NHS is estimated to be £6.6 billion a year.3

Global health

Over four years the UK contributed £1.44 billion to Gavi, the vaccine alliance, to vaccinate children living in the world's poorest countries.4

New technologies

Advances in genomics and artificial intelligence are speeding up vaccine development.5

Protecting lives

2 to 3 million lives are saved globally every year because of immunisation.1

Share the facts

Real stories

Rajeev Venkayya, MD

Dr. Rajeev Venkayya is President of the Vaccine Business at Takeda, and also serves as an independent member of the board of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)...

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Malcolm Macartney

Malcolm Macartney, UK Medical Advisor for Infectious Diseases & Vaccines at Janssen, has dedicated his career to virology, working as a clinical and R&D scientist, prior to Medical Affairs roles in industry...

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References

  1. Global Immunisation Factsheet, WHO, Jan 2018
  2. IFPMA, Innovation for a healthier world, 2015
  3. Department of Health, CMO annual report, 2007
  4. Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance, United Kingdom, Apr 2020
  5. TechRepublic, How AI is helping find a vaccine for COVID-19, 2020