9 September 2025
Welcome to the Alliance Member Spotlight – a blog series showcasing impactful initiatives and success stories from across the UK Health Data Research Alliance. Each post highlights how members are contributing to our shared mission: to accelerate improvements in biomedicine, health and care by encouraging the widespread and responsible use of health-relevant data in a trustworthy, ethical way for research and innovation.
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In this edition, we hear from Dr Janet Valentine, Executive Director, Innovation and Research Policy, at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) on why NHS data is essential to the development of new medicines – and how its responsible use can benefit patients across the UK and beyond.
The NHS is one of the UK’s most valuable assets – not only as a provider of care, but as a source of world-leading, population-wide health data. For researchers developing new medicines, this data is critical. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to improve patient outcomes, ensure treatments are safe and effective, and support innovation that benefits public health across the UK and globally.
In many countries, access to healthcare – and therefore to comprehensive health data – is limited by patients’ ability to pay. The UK is different. Because the NHS is free at the point of care, its data includes information from people of all ages, ethnicities, geographies, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This makes it uniquely representative and inclusive.
Such diversity is essential in medical research. It ensures that the development and testing of medicines reflects real-world patient populations and that treatments are safe and effective for all.
Pharmaceutical companies have long recognised the value of working with anonymised NHS data to advance understanding of disease, evaluate treatment outcomes, and meet regulatory requirements for licensed medicines. These insights can lead to better treatment options, more efficient use of healthcare resources, and earlier intervention for patients.
Access to this data is tightly governed. All research must be for public benefit, carried out by qualified individuals, and comply with robust ethical and security standards. The ABPI and its members are committed to this responsible use, guided by published principles that ensure transparency and public trust.
Public trust is essential. Multiple surveys conducted over the past decade have shown consistent support – typically between 60 and 70 per cent – for the use of anonymised NHS data in pharmaceutical research. This trust held firm even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when data-driven research enabled the rapid development of safe, effective vaccines.
As the UK moves forward with new investments in data infrastructure – including the government’s recent £600 million pledge to create a Health Data Research Service in partnership with Wellcome – maintaining and strengthening this trust will be vital.
To illustrate the value of NHS data in practice, the ABPI has launched a new Health Data Case Study Library. This public resource showcases how pharmaceutical companies have used NHS data to develop treatments across a range of conditions – from cancer to cardiovascular disease – and the tangible benefits for patients.
We invite Alliance members and partners to explore the library, learn from these examples, and consider how similar approaches might support your own data-driven health research.
