Reece Armstrong examines the looming possibility of a 'no deal' Brexit and why the industry is entering the golden age of innovation.
Europe Innovation
The start of 2019 has seen its fair share of interesting developments for the pharma industry.
Between multi-million-pound mergers and the ongoing implications that Brexit could place on the industry, pharma firms are now cautiously waiting to see what 2019 has in store for them.
Here in the UK, the government’s actions towards ensuring a steady and indeed safe supply of medicines draws parallels with hoarding money in your mattress in case the banks close down - except in our case it’s the ports which are at risk of shutting down.
Well, shutting down might be a bit of an overstatement but health secretary Matt Hancock’s statement about a potential delay of six months across Dover and Folkestone does nothing to stem worries about access to potentially life-saving drugs after we leave the EU.
I apologise if this column doesn’t take you into the New Year with a positive attitude, but the pharma industry’s scepticism surrounding Brexit should highlight the precarious situation the government and most importantly patients find themselves in.
This isn’t hyperbole. The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has said that a ‘no deal’ Brexit presents “very real, tangible and immediate threats to patient safety and public health in both the UK and across Europe.”
“Now is the time for policy makers in the UK and the EU to put politics aside and put measures in place to prevent patients being harmed by the consequences of Brexit,” according to EFPIA director general Nathalie Moll. “In particular from disruption to the supply of medicines including from transport delays at the border and where the development, manufacture, packaging, safety testing and regulation of the medicine no longer benefits from mutual recognition.”
However, despite Brexit it’s not all bad news.
According to the latest report from Pharmapack Europe, the industry is entering the golden age of innovation for research & development, making 2019 the perfect year for companies wanting to bring their innovations to patients.
A stronger focus on patients seems to be a key driver for companies innovating within the industry. Personalised medicine and genomics are just some of the developments driving the industry towards patient-specific treatments, but changes are happening throughout all sectors.
Take smart packaging for instance. Products utilising printed electronics allow companies to track and monitor how patients are adhering to their medication and even give them reminders if they forget to take a dose.
It isn’t just so-called ‘big pharma’ leading the way. Now we’re seeing a holistic industry effort, from SMEs, start-ups and spin-outs, not to mention academia, all acting as exciting players within pharma. And as evidenced by the recent spate of acquisitions, pharma companies are now actively searching for the latest innovative companies and their ‘game-changing’ portfolios.
I’m sure Pharmapack Europe will play host to many of these innovations when it opens its doors in February. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing all the industry players together under one roof. It also gives me the chance to escape the UK’s Brexit woes, if only for a couple of days.