In a letter to the Financial Times, health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and business secretary, Greg Clark, laid out plans for the regulation of medicines in the UK after the country leaves the European Union.
Brexit flag
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has responded favourably to the plans:
“This letter is a welcome recognition that the future of medicines regulation is a key priority for the government as we negotiated a new relationship with the EU,” said Mike Thompson, chief executive of the ABPI. “It also signals a readiness to take a pragmatic approach to Brexit negotiations that puts people’s health first. This is a great first step and we look forward to seeing more detail in the coming weeks and months.”
As reported in the Financial Times, the letter is in line with the prime minister’s wish to remain cooperative with the EU post-Brexit stating, ‘the UK would like to find a way to continue to collaborate with the EU in the interests of public health and safety’. However, it is also highlighted within the letter that should the UK fail to secure the ‘desired relationship with the EU’ then a new regulatory system will need to be arranged that will ensure therapeutic licences are processed ‘as quickly as possible’.
“If patients in Europe are to continue to get safe and effective medicines in a timely fashion, the focus must be on agreeing regulatory partnership between the UK and EU,” continued Thompson. “The timeframes we need to meet to ensure no disruption or delay mean that confirmation of a reciprocal approach from the EU would provide welcome certainty to more than 500 million patients.”