Key View

• If adopted, the proposed National Strategy for Self Care will combat pressures on the UK’s NHS.
• Nevertheless, pharmacists claim that the range of currently available OTC medicines will not be sufficient to meet patient needs.
• There will be further calls by Sanofi and the PAGB for the UK’s MHRA to revise the current OTC switching

Key View

• We anticipate an increase in regulatory approvals for medical devices that aid mental health conditions in the UK over the medium term.
• Increased funding for mental health and the rise of telehealth services will aim to ease pressure on the National Health Service.
• Investment in the regulatory capacity will boost medical devices for

Key View: We hold a negative outlook for the UK consumer in 2023, as households face a myriad of economic issues, which will weigh on household spending over the year. Risks are to the downside, with the most prominent risks being higher tax burdens for households, inflation that remains elevated for longer and a more rapid deterioration in the

Key View

• The appointment of Rishi Sunak as UK prime minister and the return to a more conventional approach to fiscal policy has seen UK financial market volatility abate somewhat in recent weeks.
• Restless public sector unions remain an issue for the government, though we do anticipate that wage settlements will be reached in the early part

Key View

• We at Fitch Solutions now expect that the UK current account deficit will widen from 2.0% of GDP in 2021 to 4.8% and 4.0% in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
• We had previously projected the deficit at 6.4% and 4.3% in 2022 and 2023, but there has been a notable improvement in the trade balance over Q322 driven by movements in precious

Key View

• CMR Surgical and Ethicon’s partnership will accelerate the use of minimally invasive surgery in surgical procedures in developed and emerging markets.
• We expect this partnership to drive competition within the surgical robotics and minimally invasive surgery industry.
• CMR Surgical’s international presence will increase through

Key View

• The fiscal consolidation measures amid an imminent recession and move to reduce the Energy Price Guarantee from April 2023 poses downside risks to short-term UK natural gas consumption from lower demand in higher-income households.
• As part of the fiscal consolidation, the government’s decision to make electric vehicle owners pay road

Key View

• Merck has agreed to acquire US-based Imago Biosciences in a deal valued at USD1.4bn.
• The purchase will bolster its haematology pipeline with the help of Imago’s lead drug candidate, bomedemstat, currently in Phase II.
• The deal underlines Merck’s strategy to diversify away from Keytruda ahead of its 2028 patent cliff.
• We expect the

Key View

• We at Fitch Solutions continue to forecast that UK real GDP will expand by 4.5% in 2022, though we now anticipate that the economy will contract by 0.8% in 2023 versus 0.4% previously.
• The UK economy contracted by 0.2% q-o-q in Q322, its first quarterly contraction since the pandemic. While this was partly a function of additional