Medicines supply could be disrupted by six months in no deal Brexit, Hancock says

Pharmaceutical companies must make additional plans to prepare for a ‘no deal’ Brexit, health secretary Matt Hancock has said.

Hancock wrote to pharmaceutical manufacturers in August, asking them to stockpile an additional six weeks supply in the UK to maintain an order of medicines supply during Brexit.

The health secretary has now warned companies that there will be significantly reduced border access across Dover and Folkestone for up to six months, potentially effecting medicines coming into the UK from Europe.

The new assessment comes from revised government planning which takes into account a worst-cast scenario or a “no deal’ Brexit and how it will effect the flow of medicines and medical devices from Europe into the UK.

In the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, the UK will not have control over what checks take place at the EU border by member states.

“Nevertheless, as a responsible Government, we have a duty to plan for all scenarios. And in areas where we cannot tolerate significant risk to the flow of goods, such as with medicines and medical products, we need to have contingency plans in place for this worst-case planning assumption,” Hancock wrote.

The six-weeks’ worth of stock will now be supplemented with additional action, according to Hancock, though he was vague as to what these actions will be.

The delays are due to the European Commission stating that in the event of a ‘no deal’, it will impose third country controls on people and goods entering the UK.

“The Government recognises the vital importance of medicines and medical products and is working to ensure that there is sufficient roll-on, roll-off freight capacity to enable these vital products to continue to move freely in to the UK,” Hancock said.

UK Bioindustry Association CEO, Steve Bates, responded to the letter saying “a ‘no deal’ Brexit would mean the biggest dis-integration of the complex regulated medicines market across Europe in terms of regulation, cross border movement of goods, comparative pricing and intellectual property.”

“On behalf of patients we encourage all participants to be as prepared as possible for a scenario industry really does not want. We should be under no illusions that this will be easy or smooth and today the challenge of ensuring UK medicine supply through 2019 in a No Deal Brexit scenario got harder not easier,” Bates added.