UK Life Sciences & MedTech Payment Practices: A Mixed Bag in 2025

The Numbers

• Companies analysed: 99
• Average PaymentCheck Score: 63.1/100
• UK average (all sectors): 50.0/100
• Difference from UK average: +13.1 points
• Top Payer: MERCURY PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED - 99.2/100
• Bottom Payer: MEDIQ HEALTHCARE UK LIMITED - 28.3/100

What Stands Out

The Life Sciences & MedTech sector demonstrates a significantly better payment performance than the UK average, although there's a wide disparity between the best and worst payers that any supplier should be aware of before signing on the dotted line. It's also striking how the range of scores is so wide, almost 71 points.

Best Payers

1. MERCURY PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED - 99.2/100
2. UNIKERIS LIMITED - 98.7/100
3. IPG HEALTH MEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED - 98.3/100
4. ASTEX THERAPEUTICS LIMITED - 97.7/100
5. CANON MEDICAL SYSTEMS LIMITED - 95.3/100

Worst Payers

1. MEDIQ HEALTHCARE UK LIMITED - 28.3/100
2. MERCURY PHARMA GROUP LIMITED - 37.9/100
3. READING SCIENTIFIC SERVICES LIMITED - 38.5/100
4. SYNERGY HEALTH (UK) LIMITED - 39.27/100
5. ABBOTT LABORATORIES LIMITED - 39.3/100

Regional Patterns

There is significant variance between the regions. Companies in the North West, at 73.8 on average, exhibit the strongest payment record, while London-based firms, with a score of 63.9 (based on a sample size of 26 companies), perform only fractionally above the sector average. But consider the impact on cashflow if you face late payments from a company based in London. See how it could affect your business using our late payment calculator. The "Unknown" region has a high average, 85.4, but that's skewed by only two companies, so it's hard to read anything significant into that number.

The life sciences and medical technology sector pays much faster than average, but some companies like MEDIQ HEALTHCARE UK LIMITED score just 28.3/100, indicating suppliers can't afford to ignore payment practices when drawing up contracts.

2025: The Story

Overall, 2025 brought a positive shift in payment practices for the Life Sciences and Medical Technology sector, with the average score improving by 2.3 points to 63.1/100. This improvement comes despite a smaller dataset of 99 companies, suggesting potential consolidation or a shift in reporting entities from the previous year's 113. Notable individual stories include Mercury Pharmaceuticals Limited, which surged an impressive 19.9 points to a nearly flawless 99.2/100. Aventis Pharma Limited also saw a substantial gain, climbing 28.7 points to 56.5/100, indicating a significant effort to improve.

However, not all news was positive; Abbott Diabetes Care Limited declined by 5.8 points, finishing at a concerning 41.9/100, highlighting deteriorating performance. The entry of strong new payers like Vifor Pharma UK Limited (92.3/100) and Cancer Research UK (79.3/100) also contributed positively to the sector's overall average. Suppliers must understand that while the sector average improved, individual payment reliability remains highly variable, necessitating ongoing due diligence.