Currently the London-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorises drugs for use across the EU……including the UK. However, the EMA is expected to move out of the UK after Brexit, raising uncertainty over whether the UK will need to develop its own separate drug approval system.
The fear is, that if this happens, pharmaceutical firms could be slower to seek permission for their drugs to be used in just one country (i.e. UK)……focusing instead on getting their drugs approved for larger more lucrative markets (i.e. EU).
There are uncomfortable outcomes with this scenario:
Firstly, there are fears Brexit may cause delays in UK patients getting new drugs as the larger EU market is a bigger incentive for pharmaceutical firms.
Secondly, Brexit could undermine future investment, research and jobs in the UK in this sector.
Health, jobs, medical research and development, etc. all in the balance and hanging on positive negotiations.
2 years seems a very short timescale all of a sudden.
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