ABPI appoints Dr Richard Torbett as new Chief Executive

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has appointed Dr. Richard Torbett as its new Chief Executive from January 1, 2020.

He takes over from Mike Thompson, who has served as chief executive since March 2016.

Richard Torbett joined the ABPI in July 2015 and is currently Executive Director of Economic, Health and Commercial Policy where he was responsible for negotiating the 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Medicine Pricing and Access. 

Richard has spent the last 14 years working across a number of senior roles in the pharmaceutical industry, both in the UK and internationally, including as Chief Economist at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and Senior Director and Head of International Affairs at Pfizer.

Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Richard worked as a government economist. He was a Senior Economist at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the UK. As a Government official, he held a number of posts at DTI, Cabinet Office and the European Commission.

Richard was appointed following a competitive, external recruitment process with an executive search agency and was unanimously selected by the ABPI Board as the ABPI’s new Chief Executive.

ABPI President Haseeb Ahmad said:

“I am delighted that Richard has been appointed as ABPI’s new Chief Executive. Richard is a hugely respected figure within our industry both internationally and in the UK. 

We share an ambition to make the UK the best place in the world to research, develop and use new medicines and I look forward to working with him.”

Dr Richard Torbett said:

“I am proud to work for an industry that has such a profound effect on patients’ lives, and I am hugely excited about taking up the role of Chief Executive of the ABPI. 

At this critical time for our country it’s vital that the world-leading UK life sciences industry continues to thrive. I look forward to working with all of our members and partners in Government and the NHS to achieve this.”

About the ABPI 

The ABPI represents innovative research-based biopharmaceutical companies, large, medium and small, leading an exciting new era of biosciences in the UK.

Our industry, a major contributor to the economy of the UK, brings life-saving and life-enhancing medicines to patients.  We represent companies who supply more than 80 per cent of all branded medicines used by the NHS and who are researching and developing the majority of the current medicines pipeline, ensuring that the UK remains at the forefront of helping patients prevent and overcome disease.

Globally our industry is researching and developing more than 7,000 new medicines. 

The ABPI is recognised by government as the industry body negotiating on behalf of the branded pharmaceutical industry for statutory consultation requirements including the pricing scheme for medicines in the UK