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Disorderly Brexit could
put patients at risk, drug industry warns
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[July 13, 2017]
By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) - The supply of
life-saving medicines in Europe could be severely disrupted unless
Britain successfully negotiates a smooth and orderly exit from the EU,
pharmaceutical industry leaders warned on Thursday.
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 Europe's pharmaceutical and bio-science industry is concerned about
Brexit because it is currently well integrated across the bloc, with
many EU-wide regulatory agreements and cross-border collaborations.
In a letter to Brexit negotiators stressing the importance of
securing ongoing co-operation on medicines after Britain leaves the
European Union (EU), drug company representatives said a bad
transition could put patients at risk.
"In the case of an unorderly withdrawal, there is a risk that all
goods due to be moved between the UK and EU could be held either at
border checks, in warehouses or manufacturing and/or subject to
extensive retesting requirements," the letter said.
"In fact this would lead to a severe disruption of most companies’
supply chains, which would lead to potential supply disruptions of
life-saving medicines."
The letter, addressed to Britain's Brexit minister David Davis and
chief EU Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, was signed by heads of
the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and
Associations, EuropaBio, the Association of the British
Pharmaceutical Industry and the BioIndustry Association, among
others.
The industry leaders called for "as much certainty as possible, as
early as possible" to enable the sector "to transition smoothly into
the new framework".
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Their call for a smooth transition comes a week after Britain's
health minister Jeremy Hunt set out the UK government's plans for
post-Brexit pharmaceutical regulation, signaling a desire for
continued cooperation between the EU and the UK on drug regulations
and medicines marketing approvals.
In their letter, the industry representatives said they supported
that view:
"Securing ... agreement (on ongoing cooperation between the UK and
EU on medicines) is the best way of ensuring that patients across
Europe and the UK are able to continue to access safe and effective
medicines and to ensure that there is no adverse impact on public
health," they wrote.
(Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
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