New figures show that the UK boom in medicines research could be under threat, according to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). ABPI figures show that total expenditure on research and development (R&D) on new medicines by the UK-based pharmaceutical industry fell by two per cent in real terms to ?3,244 million in 2004 - unchanged in cash terms from the 2003 figure of ?3,241 million.

The association pointed out this is the second year in a row that UK R&D investment has fallen. ABPI director general Dr Richard Barker said: "While these are not massive drops in expenditure, they are nevertheless highly significant. "Instead of steady - sometimes spectacular - growth, we are now looking at a trend of declining investment in real terms."

He added: "In an era in which there is global competition for the industry's research base, this country must not follow the paths of so many other European nations in creating barriers to innovation, whether through over-regulation or through concentration on the price of medicines rather than their value." The figures also showed the UK pharmaceutical industry reinvests more than 34 per cent of its turnover in researching new medicines and a quarter of the global top 100 medicines originated in Britain.