Top R&D countries and UK companies listed in new research

New research has revealed which countries are leading R&D and which UK companies are driving business forward in their respective sectors. 

Conducted by RIFT Research and Development Ltd, the researchers investigated which global nations are home to the biggest average R&D spend as a proportion of revenue based on the companies located there that feature in the Strategy and Global Innovation Top 1000. 

According to the report, Switzerland currently leads the way with companies featuring in the list averaging the highest R&D spend of 8.4 percent of total revenue on an annual basis. The US ranks second with R&D expenses accounting for 6.9 percent of total revenue. Australia came in third with 6.4 percent. 

The UK ranked seventh with the R&D spend of these companies accounting for 3.6 percent of revenue. The frontrunners in the pharmaceutical sector are:

1. GW Pharmaceuticals, investing £115 million into the R&D of their company, products and sector, accounting for 1,349.9 percent of their total revenue for the year
2. Circassia Pharmaceuticals is the UK’s second biggest R&D spender having committed an annual spend of £101 million, 210.4 percent of its annual revenue
3. Atlassian Corporation came in third in the UK, spending £239 million, at 67.9 percent of their annual revenue. 

Director of RIFT Research and Development, Sarah Collins commented: “R&D has become a big business and this is demonstrated by some of the huge spends across some of the biggest companies operating in the UK. However, while certain names are helping drive R&D within the UK at the very highest level, we still have some way to go before we catch the national frontrunners elsewhere around the world. The great thing about R&D is that claims aren’t limited to these giants and regardless of how established your company is, any work done to progress your sector can qualify and help push the UK to the top of the table.”