Pharmaceutical Research

BC&A Innovation

R&D Spotlight

Pharmaceutical research is one of the most advanced and heavily regulated sectors in the UK economy. From developing life-saving medicines to improving manufacturing methods and delivering innovative drug delivery systems, UK pharmaceutical companies are at the forefront of scientific progress.

However, drug development and pharmaceutical research are time-consuming, costly, and filled with scientific uncertainty. Every new treatment must go through rigorous testing to prove its safety, effectiveness, and compliance with UK regulatory bodies such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

R&D tax relief is designed to support UK companies that face these scientific and technological challenges. To qualify, your business must be working to achieve a scientific advancement and must be overcoming scientific uncertainty—situations where the outcome is unknown and requires experimentation, research, and testing to resolve.

Here are some typical examples of qualifying activities in the UK pharmaceutical sector:

Developing New Medicines or Therapies

Researching and developing new chemical compounds, biological treatments, or combination therapies that target specific conditions or diseases. This includes pre-clinical studies and clinical trial preparations, even when the research is unsuccessful or the outcome is uncertain.

Improving Drug Formulation and Delivery Methods

Working on new drug delivery technologies — such as inhalers, patches, or slow-release capsules — to improve patient outcomes or make existing medicines more effective or easier to administer.

Solving Manufacturing Process Challenges

Developing new manufacturing methods that improve yield, reduce waste, or meet Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements, especially when scaling up from laboratory to production scale.

Meeting Changing Regulatory Requirements

Engineering new processes or reformulating products to comply with updated UK regulations, such as MHRA standards or UKCA marking, when this requires overcoming scientific or technical barriers.

Enhancing Stability and Shelf Life

Researching and developing improved formulations or packaging solutions that extend the shelf life of pharmaceutical products without compromising safety or effectiveness.

Investigating New Uses for Existing Medicines

Conducting research into additional therapeutic applications for existing drugs, including repurposing treatments for new conditions, which often requires additional scientific validation.

Developing New Testing or Diagnostic Methods

Creating new diagnostic technologies, laboratory processes, or testing methods that help identify patient needs or optimise treatment pathways in the UK healthcare system.

If your pharmaceutical business is tackling these kinds of challenges here in the UK, you may be eligible to claim R&D tax relief. This can provide valuable financial support, helping you continue investing in research that improves healthcare outcomes for patients nationwide.

Our Process

What to expect when working with
BC&A Innovation

1. Discovery Call

Book your FREE 15 minute discovery call today to discuss your R&D activity and we'll guide you on best next steps and estimated claim value.

2. Information gathering

Our technical experts and industry specialists will work with you to uncover all areas of work activity eligible under the R&D scheme, ensuring we have everything we need to support a robust, defensible and maximised claim.

3. Create R&D Tax Claim

Our technical experts will write your claim and supporting documents with a clear assessment of your eligible activity and costs, ensuring compliance with the scheme's governance throughout.

4. Approval & Submission

We'll share, for your approval, the claim draft and supporting documentation. We'll explain in detail how we have arrived at our assessment of your claimable activity, costs and claim value. When you're happy, your claim can be submitted as part of your standard end-of-year processes.

5. Liaising with HMRC

Should HMRC require any further information or have queries regarding your claim, we'll liaise with them to ensure speedy payment without any reduction in claim value.

6. Payment

Once your payment is received, we'll send it across the same working day and advise you on processes that can be put in place to make future claims even more hassle-free. Don't worry about claims going forward, we'll be in regular contact to remind you what is needed and when.

About BC&A Innovation

We've helped hundreds of businesses like yours secure millions in Research & Development tax relief

Our team recognises the importance of R&D in advancing UK businesses, big and small, and we understand the time burden, resources and complexities of claiming tax relief for that R&D. These constraints often leave companies failing to get the tax relief they’re entitled to or underclaiming significantly due to unclear, often confusing guidelines about what constitutes R&D. As experts in R&D tax relief, we’re here to unblur the lines and create robust, defensible and maximised claims on your behalf.

We’re experienced tax professionals, accountants and technical experts with a deep understanding of the R&D tax relief regulations. We’ve worked in many of the industries we now serve and are ideally placed to understand your business’ R&D Activities. As part of HMRC’s panel on R&D, we stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the guidance, to provide our clients with the most accurate and up-to-date advice.

At BC&A Innovation we take the burden of claim generation away from the business so you can do what you do best, while we do what we do best. We pride ourselves on our integrity, professionalism and commitment to our clients.

Not sure if you qualify for R&D tax relief? Book a FREE discovery call today.

Many of the businesses we work with were unsure if they qualified for R&D tax relief at first. A few had even been told by other agencies that they could not claim. Yet, with our help they were able to correctly identify eligible R&D projects and claim back vital funds.

As experts in HMRC’s definitions of Research & Development, we’ll be able to tell you if you should make a claim or not. We’re success fee based, which means it isn’t in our interest or yours to take forward claims that won’t pass HMRC’s stringent checks. If we say it’s worth doing, you can take that to the bank.

Ready for a discovery call? Think of it as a no-obligation chat where we can discuss the work you’ve undertaken and identify tax-saving opportunities. Our expert consultants are keen to speak with you.