Pharma is in the dark over how a no-deal Brexit could affect medicine

Drug giants are in the dark over how a No Deal Brexit will affect the supply of medicine and they STILL don’t know which ports will be available

  • Stockpiles of the 9,000 medicines that come from the EU are already in place
  • The industry does not know ‘which ports or ferries will be available’ 
  • Patients have been warned not to turn to the internet if a shortage occurs

Drug giants are still in the dark about how medicine will be transported into the UK in the event of a No Deal Brexit, industry leaders have said.

With five-and-a-half weeks to go until October 31, experts warn they have a ‘very, very significantly compressed timeframe’ in which to prepare.

Stockpiles, ranging from supplies of six weeks to six months, of the 9,000 medicines that come from the EU are already in place.

After they run out, firms do not know which ports or ferries will be available or how long lorries will be delayed when medicine is being transported.  

If shortages do become apparent, patients have been told not to turn to the internet to buy medicines amid concerns they may fall victim to counterfeit supplies.

Pharma giants are in the dark about how medicine will be transported into the UK in the event of a No Deal Brexit, industry leaders have warned ahead of the October 31 exit date (stock)

In the run up to March 29, 2019, when Brexit was due to occur, the industry was reportedly given around two-and-a-half months’ notice of which ferries would have extra capacity for medicines, alternative routes and ports. 

Steve Bates, chief executive officer of the UK Bioindustry Association (BIA), told a media briefing on No Deal Brexit that there was an ‘established plan’. 

He said: ‘Last time around, before the last no-deal deadline, we knew in advance the alternative routes, we knew where the ferries were.

‘With 43 days to go, companies were booking on to that Government-assured capacity so we knew if there was a problem in the short straits we had alternative routes.’

Mr Bates worries the situation is less clear cut this time around.  

‘The Government has taken a different approach which means the contracting for that is in process at the moment,’ he said.

‘It does mean the industry doesn’t know which ports will be available, it doesn’t know which ferries will be available.

‘Some companies have chosen to mitigate against that risk by making their own decisions.

‘But some are looking towards the Government-assured capacity and they don’t yet know where that’s going to be.’ 

He added: ‘Much of this is predicated on an understanding of flow at the border, which has to be at this stage a judgment.

‘We take that judgment from the best information the Government give us and there is still some lack of clarity as to how border will operate in practice in a no-deal scenario.

‘How long will trucks be delayed, will they be backed up?’  

Mr Bates is also concerned time is running out to get the details sorted.  

‘There’s going to be a very, very, significantly compressed timeframe to do this in against the procurement that’s stated by Government,’ he said.

‘And we’ve made this clear that the difference between having three months to do this and doing this in three weeks is material.’ 

Mike Thompson, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), added it is not ‘realistic’ to expect smaller companies in the supply chain to make alternative arrangements.

He claimed the industry is concerned about the effects of a no-deal on patients across the EU, adding it is difficult to have conversations about whether the UK will continue to have access to Europe-wide systems.

A no-deal Brexit would mean the UK is no longer subject to the Falsified Medicines Directive that protects patients against counterfeit drugs, unless an alternative agreement is reached.

It is unclear whether the UK would remain part of the European Medicines Agency.

‘I think one of our major concerns about where the negotiations are is there will not be any time to really have a sensible conversation,’ Mr Thompson said.

Alan Boyd, from the Academy of the Medical Royal Colleges (AOMRC), said patients should be careful if they look to get hold of medicines through alternative routes. 

‘If we do get into a no-deal situation and there are shortages of drugs… the one thing patients shouldn’t do is turn to the internet and source their medicines,’ he said.

‘We know there’s a lot of fake and counterfeit medicines out there.

‘If they are going to turn to the internet the suppliers and pharmacists that are on the internet actually are accredited by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

‘And they do have a little logo there patients can click on to make sure it’s a bonafide site.

‘The last thing we want is patients turning to the internet to get fake medicines which will create an enormous problem.’

In the longer term, it is feared the UK may not get new medicines as quickly because leaving the EU could push it further back in the queue behind larger markets.

‘Our analysis, which has to be speculative, is that would likely mean new medicines would arrive later in the UK than they currently do on the longer term,’ Mr Bates said.

From border chaos to drug shortages: The doomsday warnings about a no-deal Brexit 

THE M20 TURNING INTO A ‘GIANT LORRY PARK’

One of the most vivid warnings about no-deal is that a 13-mile stretch of the M20 could become a giant lorry park for years. 

Some 10,000 freight vehicles pass through Dover daily, and the port handles one-sixth of the UK’s total trade in goods.

But imposing checks on them could cause massive tailbacks on both sides of the Channel, and spark shortages. 

Britons could also need insurance for Channel Tunnel disruption if there is no-deal Brexit, the government warned today.  

Guidance on rail says the government is still struggling to agree ‘mutual recognition’ with the EU to avoid disruption to services such as the Eurostar should there be no deal by March. 

MEDICINE SHORTAGES

Contingency plans have been put in place to fly in medical supplies as the NHS braces for six months of chaos if the UK crashes out of the EU.

Crucial supplies could also be diverted to ports away from the Channel, and some drugs may even be rationed.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has revealed the NHS is laying out on huge numbers of refrigeration units to try and keep supplied usable. 

BLACKOUTS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Northern Ireland faces the threat of electricity blackouts if the UK crashes out of the European Union without a deal.

Negotiators are trying to secure an agreement with Brussels that the current single electricity market would remain intact even if exit talks collapse.

But if the pledge was not secured, customers on both sides of the border could be hit.

The single electricity market involves ‘significant’ flows of power between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Government technical papers said there was a ‘risk’ that the single electricity market ‘may not be able to continue’.

If that happens, the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator, an energy watchdog, will ‘take action to seek to ensure continued security of supply and market stability’, they warned.

MARKET PANIC

Bank of England governor Mark Carney set out one of the most blood-curdling outcomes – while making clear it was a worst case. 

He suggested the size of the economy could plunge by 8 per cent in less than a year – further and faster than the financial crisis of 2008.

At the same time, the unemployment rate would rise 7.5 per cent, meaning hundreds of thousands losing their jobs.

Inflation would surge 6.5 per cent, sending prices in the shops surging House prices could plunge 30 per cent, while commercial property prices are set to fall 48 per cent.

The pound would fall by 25 per cent to less than parity against both the US dollar and the euro.

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