UK’s pharma and biotech support new Health and Social Care Committee report into Brexit

The associations representing the UK’s pharma and biotech industries have announced their support of the recently published findings of the new Health and Social Care Committee report into Brexit.

‘Brexit: medicines, medical devices and substances of human origin’ revealed that in order to minimise the impact of Brexit on public health for both the UK and Europe, it is imperative that a close regulatory alignment between the two parties be treated a priority in the next phase of negotiations.

In particular the report states: “negotiators on both sides must heed the call of industry and patient groups in securing the closest possible regulatory alignment in the next round of Brexit talks”, highlighting that the “supply chain of pharmaceuticals, from research and development through to the product being available on a pharmacy shelf, would be adversely affected by regulatory divergence.”

Other recommendations made in the report continue the UK’s continued participation in Europe-wide clinical trials in addition to the adoption of the new EU clinical trials regulations. Continuation of the UK’s membership of all major EU pharmacovigilance systems and databases. Negotiation on the trade arrangements between the UK and EU to be ‘free and frictionless’ and an assessment by the government of what the impact may be of losing parallel imports.

In a joint response, Mike Thompson, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) CEO and Steve Bates, CEO of the BioIndustry Association (BIA), commented:

“This thoughtful Select Committee report makes a compelling case to Brexit negotiators why public health and patient safety must be prioritised in Brexit talks.

“For medicines the detail of Brexit matters. To ensure uninterrupted continued supply we need rapid clarity on the legal position of medicines during the transition period from the EU and UK. In addition, we need progress from both sides on how the desired close co-operation for the future will work in practice.”