Reputation – General Public Overview

The public are less likely to recall news about the sector today than earlier in the pandemic. Their familiarity with it has not changed

Because it's been in the news so much, I know a little bit more, but …it's not something I would have heard of or thought about really, especially the background to it. Like people were saying, the research and things, I wouldn't have even thought about that when I was getting medicines. General Public Respondent

The pandemic led to increased public visibility of the pharmaceutical industry. At its height, recall of news about the sector reached a peak of 55%. This coincided with the approval of COVID-19 vaccines towards the end of 2020, and led to a consistently high level of news recall that lasted well into 2021. However, this quickly waned. In subsequent months, news recall dropped considerably.

When COVID-19 was going on for the last two years, that's all you heard about…how the pharmaceutical industry was trying to develop drugs. Recently, I'd say they were a bit more quiet in the news. General Public Respondent

Now, 17% of the public say they’d heard anything about the sector in the past month. Where people remember seeing or hearing information about the sector has been consistent, bar one source; TV. Back in March 2021, over three in four recalled some content about the sector on TV. Now, this is just 46%. Despite fluctuations in news recall, underlying familiarity with the sector has barely changed over the past year. Familiarity with both pharma companies operating in the UK and other industry sectors is remarkably stable. Aside from a marginal increase in the last wave of this study, there is little significant deviation from the average of 16% across the eight waves since July 2020 who feel they know at least a fair amount about the sector.

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I'd probably say [pharma companies are like] Batman because he does a lot, but we don't know who is behind it all. General Public Respondent

The public have limited familiarity with the sector, and few have a detailed understanding of what pharmaceutical companies do. The pandemic reinforced some basic assumptions of the core activities pharma companies undertake, though there has been no significant change to the level of understanding in the time that has elapsed since. The public consistently associate the sector with the research, development, manufacture and supply of medicines and vaccines. However, a minority of around two in five (more often those over 55) believe that the sector makes beauty products or runs pharmacies – a position that has not changed over time, even during periods of greater visibility in the media and public discourse.

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I didn't really think too much about the pharmaceutical industry at all, before the pandemic. But because they'd done such a good job with bringing the vaccines to the forefront so quick, yes, I do really, I've got more of a positive view about them General Public Respondent

The sector is well regarded, particularly in the wake of COVID-19. In March 2021, the first wave of this research to follow the vaccine approvals in the winter of 2020, three in five viewed the sector more positively as a result, versus one in three in October 2020. The point in time when the vaccine approvals came to pass acts as an inflection point for many of the trends in this survey. Though familiarity with the sector has barely changed, after this point in time, a greater proportion of the public felt able to give a view on the various topics explored by this work – and often these views were positive.

Without these companies and their research we wouldn't have had the vaccine results and programme to combat COVID. Also so many people’s lives rely on medication to live and have an active life General Public Respondent

Throughout 2021-2022, the public have been consistently positive; around half feel this way each wave. This mirrors their overall favourability towards the sector and the degree to which they trust pharmaceutical companies operating in the UK.

I have a mixed view. I wouldn't say it's an evil or bad industry, because the drugs that do end up being prescribed to us, obviously they can save lives, and without them, the mortality rate in any country would be a lot higher, but people do make an awful lot of money. General Public Respondent

In this context, the sector should find a receptive audience to explain what it does, how it works and the value it adds to society. But, pockets of distrust and criticism among a minority - on average 13% - remain. The reasons for this include a sense of ‘unfair’ pricing, a lack of transparency and an insufficient focus on patient needs, and each remain consistently among the top three concerns.