Simon Stevens appeared on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday 1 July and was asked about preparations for Brexit and contingency planning for a no-deal scenario to ensure the continued supply of medicines to the UK.
02 Jul 2018 Posted in
News
By
Press Office
Since June 2016, the ABPI has been working with companies to understand the impact of the UK leaving the EU on the supply of medicines to patients and has also been working closely with Government to make sure they have the all information they need to make all necessary preparations for the UK leaving the EU.
In response to the comments made on the Andrew Marr show, the ABPI has said:
"Between them, companies will have to spend hundreds of millions on contingency planning. Every month, 45 million packs of medicine go from the UK to Europe – and over 37 million packs come back the other way. Without clarity on customs arrangements, medicines regulation or whether there will be a transition period, this essential planning is taking priority over research and development. 500 million patients across Europe are dependent on us getting this right, whatever Brexit scenario occurs."
“The NHS and pharmaceutical companies are undertaking extensive planning for Brexit for all scenarios. We have been working closely with Government to make sure that they have all the information they need to put their plans in place so that the supply of medicines to patients it not interrupted.”
The ABPI is at the heart of a health sector-wide effort to establish consensus on key Brexit issues including medicines regulation, UK and EU trading relationships, access to talent, and the future of UK science. The pharmaceutical industry’s policy priorities for Brexit are:
- Securing a transition period. This should be a single-step transition that adequately reflects the time needed by pharmaceutical companies to transition to a new framework.
- Securing co-operation with the EU on the regulation of medicines. This should achieve alignment between the UK and EU regulatory framework, to deliver proportionate, robust and effective regulation of medicines in the UK.
- Securing the ability to freely trade and move medicines and pharmaceutical supplies across borders. This should be ‘frictionless’ and include access to free trade agreements already in place between third countries and the EU.
- Securing access to the best talent. This should achieve an immigration system which allows global pharmaceutical companies to attract and transfer talented and skilled students, scientists and other professionals from around the world.
- Securing predictable access to funding and collaboration for scientific research. This should achieve agreements on existing and future funding and collaboration opportunities such as Horizon 2020 (and its successor), including the Innovative Medicines Initiative. UK life science entrepreneurs should also be able to access the European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund.
