The chairs of nine major pharmaceutical companies, including GSK and AstraZeneca, have urged European governments to take urgent steps to attract investment in the life sciences sector before it is too late. In an open letter addressed to prime ministers and presidents across the continent, the industry leaders warned that Europe is losing ground to the United States and China in pharmaceutical research, development, and innovation.

Among the signatories are Sir Jonathan Symonds, chair of GSK, and Michel Demaré, chair of AstraZeneca, who emphasized that pharmaceutical investment, jobs, and patient access to advanced medicines are increasingly migrating to other regions. They highlighted that over $600 billion in pharmaceutical investment has been pledged in the US and China during the past two years, while Europe’s share of global pharmaceutical research and development has declined from 43% in 1990 to 31% today, and continues to fall. The continent’s share of commercial clinical trials has halved over the last decade to just 9%, with China now leading in clinical trials, patent filings, and new medicine development.

The letter expressed concern that around 40% of newly approved therapies do not reach European patients, attributing this gap to governments treating medicines primarily as a cost to be controlled rather than as a vital investment. The signatories warned that Europe’s future in pharmaceuticals—a sector they described as one of the continent’s great post-war achievements—is at risk unless immediate action is taken.

Echoing the findings of former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, who recently published a report on Europe’s competitiveness, the letter called attention to the “slow agony” facing strategic industries like pharmaceuticals. The industry leaders argued that governments need to create conditions that incentivize investment in next-generation medicines, noting that while the EU can offer fiscal flexibility to member states investing in this area, national governments hold the primary authority over health budgets and policy levers.

The signatories also include chairs from major European companies such as Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Roche, and Novartis. They stressed that without decisive government intervention, Europe risks being sidelined in the rapidly evolving global pharmaceutical landscape.

In the United Kingdom, signs of a turnaround have begun to emerge. A recent industry report found that the trade deal signed with the United States in April, together with approximately £2 billion in new investment commitments, has started to reverse previous declines. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry credited the deal with improving the UK’s historically narrow access to, slow adoption of, and underinvestment in innovative medicines, while also addressing high clawback rates on company revenues—factors that had previously discouraged investment.

The pharmaceutical executives’ call underscores mounting pressure on European governments to bolster their life sciences sectors amid rising borrowing costs, defence spending demands, and increasing global competition.