Today (Monday 20 November) is the day that will see the first vote on the new location of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) be made by European Union (EU) ministers.
Brexit opinion
After the outcome of the European referendum last year, resulting in the decision for the UK to leave the EU, it was confirmed that the EMA will leave London and be hosted in another city that is still within the EU. Nineteen cities have bid for the privilege of hosting the agency, which will make the successful bidder a hub for Europe’s medical industry.
According to the BBC, betting company Ladbrokes has marked Milan as the favourite to win the EMA, followed by Bratislava and Amsterdam. However, the outcome may be more difficult to discern than anticipated. This first ballot will see ministers pick their top three choices for the location of the agency, so if a majority doesn’t pick the same top choice further voting rounds will be required. If there is still no clear winner after a third voting round, the Estonian meeting chairman will draw lots.
However, in an article from The Economist, relocation of the EMA is not the only cause for concerns for the UK’s pharma industry. With a potential for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit happening, pharmaceutical companies have already started to prepare contingency plans should the UK end up operating outside of the EU’s medicines regulations — with some firms, AstraZeneca and Eisai, already starting to duplicate testing and approval procedures in Europe so that access to the EU is ensured post 2019.
Additionally, as we saw earlier this month, the Healthcare Distribution Association (HDA UK) has raised concerns about the security of the supply of medicines to the UK after Brexit, which will surely not be helped by the relocation of the EMA.
Also, the new location will be vital to the survival of the EMA itself, as we looked at in October, staff surveys demonstrated that there will be some losses of employees irrelevant of the new city location, but if the wrong location is chosen, staff retention may be catastrophic for the agency and in turn public health.
The spotlight now falls on the ministers taking part in today’s vote (commencing at 3 pm GMT) and we’ll be sure to keep you up-to-date with all the latest developments.