Starting with a single drug licence in 2009, they now have more than 250 products in 16 therapeutic fields, and over 250 employees.
Since then, the company has built a reputation for providing quality licensed pharmaceuticals and guarantees to deliver significant cost savings to the NHS, while ensuring patient safety and continuity of supply is paramount. It is a promise that has saved the NHS almost £200 million over the past decade.
The NHS faces major funding challenges due to increased demand from an ageing population as well as the rising cost of new technologies and drugs. A key role of the UK generic and biosimilar medicines industry is to make medicines more affordable to the NHS and therefore increase patient access to important, and potentially life-saving drugs.
Aspire’s founding principle was to take a medicine, a molecule or a device and enhance it. This might be an improved presentation, a more convenient dose, or a more acceptable formulation for patients, and that principle still drives what they do today.
The company is present in the generics, specialty generics, branded medicines and medical device sector. An unusual aspect, and a competitive niche for a company in their category, is that it stretches across all of the different channels that exist within the UK – wholesale, primary care networks (PCNs), integrated care systems (ICSs), hospitals and retail channels.
Making a difference
Jon May, Chief Operating Officer at Aspire explains: “We want to create the UK’s premier speciality pharma company and make a difference in the lives of patients through the development and supply of innovative products and medicines throughout the world.”
The 2022 acquisition of Morningside Pharmaceuticals, Morningside Healthcare and Morningside Healthcare India is validation of the long-term growth plan. It will create one of the largest and fastest growing UK pharma companies and see further accelerated growth potential in current and future product portfolio with over 120 complementary mid and late-stage programmes, in the UK and internationally.
The acquisition also delivers added talent. “We celebrate equality, diversity, and inclusion and at the heart of our business are our highly skilled, motivated, and valued people, who come from a wide range of cultures, nationalities, and backgrounds.
“Through the benefit of our senior leadership, we can inspire our workforce with the clear direction that the company is going in and bring them with us on the journey to be the best that they can be.
“Our strategy is to recruit diverse talent from the local area, train and nurture them, and promote from within. We do this by offering an innovative work environment, a meaningful job, opportunities to grow and build a career with training and development at all levels.
“The team will always adhere to Aspire’s values and principles, which underpin the innovative, imaginative, and agile approach to our pharmaceutical products.”
Building partnerships
As Aspire grows, it has built partnerships to spot opportunities where the company can bring better value to patients and the NHS, with which it has a strong relationship on both a regional and national level.
“Through our partnership principles, that are key to address complex healthcare challenges, we can establish transparent, honest relationships and maintain and grow these partnerships through shared knowledge and resources that accelerate progress,” says May.
Aspire provides educational support programmes for healthcare professionals, with training packages and disease area training. The company also funds training and educational support for the new crop of independent prescribers who are set to gain their pharmacy degrees from the 2026 cohort onwards.
A further example of Aspire’s support to community pharmacists was the Ear Infection Pharmacy Service Package. Aspire provided funding through PharmaDoctor, with appropriate clinical training and professional development built in, to enable pharmacists to offer consultations and suitable treatment for specific ear complaints.
Sustainability
Aspire’s philosophy is to be better for the patient and for the planet allowing the NHS to meet environmental targets while reducing costs and improving patient outcomes. Products are sourced from around the world through supply chain partners and hard work is undertaken to minimise environmental impact through design innovation, reducing plastic and packaging waste and reducing the distance products travel to consumers and patients.
This focus is demonstrated no better than through Aspire’s strategic partnership with the Impact500 organisation. Impact500 is empowering sustainable prescribing throughout the NHS to improve patient outcomes and help reduce the NHS carbon footprint by up to 500 thousand tonnes of carbon per year.
“The future for Aspire is of continued development of differentiated products that meet the market need in niche generic and specialty medicine; new investment opportunities to bring products and companies into the portfolio with a synergistic fit to the Aspire values and areas of therapeutic focus; growth of our own portfolio of intellectual property and a corporate focus on internationalisation of the Aspire brand”, concludes May.
“Our vision is simple – we help, we care – and we can unite people behind that vision.”
