Working with the pharmaceutical industry
Why do we work with the pharmaceutical industry?
Macmillan works in partnership with pharmaceutical and life science companies to help us achieve our goal of supporting everyone affected by cancer and spark a revolution in cancer care.
As the UK’s leading cancer care charity, it’s essential that we engage with key stakeholders that can help people with cancer get the best care the UK has to offer, whoever and wherever they are.
Any collaboration between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Charities will be focused on improving patient care, as well as supporting the NHS. All activity must also be compliant with the conditions of the ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry.
A summary of our guiding principles
Our goal is to help more people affected by cancer, and any working agreements will always put first the interests of people affected by cancer.
- Open and transparent
We maintain open and transparent relationships with the industry, complying with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s code of practice. Macmillan also has its own internal working with Pharmaceuticals Policy to ensure open and transparent ways of working.
- No preference for one company
We have no preference for any one company, and welcome collaboration from multiple companies, where appropriate.
- Donations limited to ‘projects’ that support patient care or the NHS.
We do not allow the acceptance of funding or support from pharmaceutical companies that compromise our values or influence our decisions.
- Limits on funding – percentage of income
We have legal agreements in place for each partnership and set limits on donations as a percentage of our annual income. We will also not accept any donations directly linked to the sale of pharmaceutical products.
Support in the latest financial year
We would like to thank the following companies for their donations and sponsorship for the financial year April 2024 - April 2025.
- Accord
- Abbott Nutrition
- AstraZeneca
- Boehringer Ingelheim Limited
- Daiichi Sankyo Uk Limited
- Eisai Europe Ltd
- GeneSys Legacy Project
- Nutricia
- Roche
Recent projects with pharmaceutical companies
Roche and Breast Cancer Clinical Trials Project
Macmillan Cancer Support, Roche Products Limited, and the NHS Race and Health Observatory (NHSRHO) are working together on a pilot project to address inequity in breast cancer clinical trials, by raising awareness of trials, enhancing communication with patients, and offering one-to-one support. In this video created for the project, women who have taken part in clinical trials talk about their experiences.
Read more about the Roche and breast cancer clinical trials project.
Hear from people who were involved in the pilot talking about their experiences and the importance of improving representation in clinical trials.
Other recent projects
More information
Please email us if you have any questions or would like to know more about our work with the pharmaceutical industry.