ABPI president Nigel Brooksby has called on the government to restore stability in the UK's pharmaceutical industry.
His recommendation follows the publication of survey figures suggesting that some businesses within the UK's pharmaceutical sector feel the market is deteriorating and have little confidence in the current UK market environment.
The survey of 101 UK pharma businesses was conducted by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the ABPI over a week-long period in March. It identified that 83% of respondents believed the pharma market would deteriorate over the next 12 months compared with 1% who were confident of future market improvement. It also highlighted that three-quarters of respondents expressed a lack of confidence in the current UK pharma market environment.
Shortcomings in the UK's infrastructure and skills have been identified as contributing factors.
The pharma industry, which is claimed to account for a quarter of UK research and development, currently employs about 70,000 people with about 40% working in r&d.
ABPI director-general Richard Barker pointed to the significant job cuts that have been made in the pharma industry over the last two to three years and warned that if the UK falters, there would be other emerging pharma markets, such as Brazil, India, Russia and Turkey, "ready to take up the challenge".
The government's plan to scrap the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) in the summer has also been noted as an additional contributor. The PPRS, which is to be replaced by a new system in September, is being reformed in a bid to deliver better value for money from NHS expenditure on drugs.
Last year, the Office of Fair Trading's report claimed that the NHS could save up to £500m a year by choosing the cheapest alternative on a range of popular medicines.
Brooksby said: "Stability is essential for business confidence and investment and the UK has long been a springboard for international success for many global companies in the pharmaceutical sector.
But the UK now uses fewer innovative medicines than the rest of Europe, and the Government has broken the five-year agreement on pricing made in 2005 - an agreement that provided that very stability on which our success largely depends.
"We must work together urgently to restore business trust and planning stability, so that the UK can return to providing an environment where global companies have the confidence to invest."
John Cridland, deputy director general of the CBI, believes that the Government needs to respond to these concerns expressed by pharma businesses to ensure that the industry continued to feel nurtured by government.
He said: "I hope this survey is genuinely a storm warning and the Government heeds it."