Richard TorbettSector leader

Biography

Dr Richard Torbett MBE is Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), the trade body representing around 120 biopharmaceutical companies that research, develop and supply prescription medicines to the NHS and private markets. He has held the post since January 2020, having joined the ABPI in 2015 as Executive Director of Economic, Health and Commercial Policy. His background is in the economics of innovation, technology and healthcare; before joining the ABPI he was Chief Economist at EFPIA, the European pharmaceutical trade association, and prior to that held senior roles at Pfizer and as a government economist at the DTI, Cabinet Office and the European Commission. He completed his PhD at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex in 2001. Torbett is known for arguing that medicines pricing and access policy must support both NHS affordability and the UK's competitiveness as a destination for life sciences investment, and has publicly warned that rising VPAG payback rates risk driving R&D investment away from the UK.

References

1. 1.Dr Richard Torbett MBE – ABPI Leadership Team — Current role, tenure, career history, MBE, OHE trusteeship, PhD
2. 2.ABPI looks internally for new CEO, naming Richard Torbett – Pharmaphorum — Appointment as CEO, credit for negotiating VPAS 2019
3. 3.Landmark medicines deal to boost nation's health, save NHS £14 billion – ABPI — Torbett's role and public statements on the 2023 medicines deal
4. 4.ABPI calls on UK Government to resolve 'VPAG crisis' – Pharmaceutical Technology — Public advocacy on VPAG payback rates and UK life sciences competitiveness (2025)
5. 5.THE ASSOCIATION OF THE BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY – Companies House

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Medicines pricing and access policy
• Life sciences investment and competitiveness
• NHS-industry partnership
• Health technology assessment
• Pharmaceutical innovation economics
• UK life sciences regulation

Notable achievements

• Negotiated the 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Medicine Pricing and Access (VPAS) on behalf of the ABPI, designed to keep NHS spending on branded medicines affordable while allowing developers a return on investment. Source ↗
• Led ABPI's negotiation of the 2023 landmark medicines deal described as saving the NHS £14 billion and securing research investment commitments. Source ↗
• Awarded an MBE for services to Life Sciences and to the Pharmaceutical Industry in the 2024 King's Birthday Honours. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “The deal is an important step towards ensuring patients can access innovative medicines needed to improve wider NHS health outcomes.”

  Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS to pay 25% more for innovative drugs after UK–US zero-tariff deal ↗

• “It's good that the amount of revenue companies will need to pay to the UK government has come down in 2026. Payment rates remain much higher than in similar countries, and there is work to do to accelerate the NHS's adoption and use of cost-effective medicines to improve patient care.”

  Chief Executive of the ABPI · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · US is the best place for drug companies to invest, says boss of London-based GSK ↗

• “The agreement raises the baseline threshold used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to assess the cost-effectiveness for new medicines, enabling more treatments to be considered for NHS use.”

  Chief executive, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Deals put UK-US trade relationship in the spotlight | Letters ↗

• “In just the last three months, many new medicines that would otherwise have been withheld or delayed have reached NHS patients as a result of the reformed pricing arrangements.”

  Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 ·

Source references

1. NHS to pay 25% more for innovative drugs after UK–US zero-tariff dealtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. US is the best place for drug companies to invest, says boss of London-based GSKtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. Deals put UK-US trade relationship in the spotlight | Letterstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
4. How US-UK drug deal will benefit patients | Letterstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.abpi.org.uk/leadership-team/dr-richard-torbett-mbe/
• Xhttps://x.com/TorbettR
• Press office emailPressOffice@abpi.org.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone+44 20 7747 7147published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.