Brexit may also create opportunities for UK’s pharmaceutical and medical device industries – report
pharmafile | June 27, 2016 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing |
Even though UK’s exit from the European Union undoubtedly creates significant issues for the UK pharmaceutical and medical device industries in ensuring highly regulated European markets remain open to business, opportunities remain for these sectors to thrive, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.
The vote to leave will have significant consequences for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries in five key areas, namely: regulatory impacts, research and development, access to talent, intellectual property rights, and market access, the research agency said.
David Shaw, GlobalData’s chief operating officer, commented: “Given the time scales that life sciences operate, to suddenly enter a two-year negotiation process doesn’t sound like a long time, and that uncertainty makes the monetizing of investments appear more risky.”
For manufacturers, the most immediate impact will be on the area of drug and device regulation, as a Brexit vote will be followed by a series of negotiations lasting two years. However, as the UK government has chosen to delay invoking Article 50 until at least the autumn of 2016, and possibly beyond, in principle this would suggest UK-EU relations would continue as normal until that point, the agency forecasts.
Speaking ahead of the referendum vote, Sean Hu, GlobalData’s senior vice president & head of consulting, said: “If the UK exits the EU, pharma companies could even exclude the UK when assessing commercial potential of drugs due to the much higher access hurdle. Instead, they might choose to focus more on the remaining EU, and treat the UK as an isolated country.”
Life science, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices, is a critical element of the UK economy, accounting for over 180,000 jobs and revenue of over $80 billion, according to UK Trade and Investment. 51% of medicinal and pharmaceutical products are exported to the EU.
Anjali Shukla
