Life Sciences Leaders Join Forces to Urge Close EU Alignment
The leading life sciences industry representative bodies have written a joint letter urging the government, to ensure that the life sciences sector continues to benefit from any future relationship with the EU.
This includes free trade, close co-operation and a high level of legal and regulatory alignment with Europe.
What's in the Letter?
The letter acknowledges that the government has a mandate to leave the EU single market and customs union.
It wants to preserve the economic growth, jobs and patient care coming out of the sector.
Above all, the signatories to the letter welcome the commitment in the revised Political Declaration on the future relationship between the UK and the EU to explore the possibility of co-operation between UK and EU authorities, such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The letter points out that the life sciences sector is highly integrated across the EU, and the UK is aligned from a regulatory and legal standpoint. It adds that maintaining this level of alignment and maximum participation for the UK across the responsibilities of the EMA is important to ensure patients in the UK continue to benefit from access to the latest medicines and medical technologies as quickly and simply as possible. This would ensure the robust safety arrangements which have developed internationally continue to work unimpeded.
The signatories to the letter were the Chief Executives or Chairs of the ABPI, BIA, BIVDA, EMIG and PAGB.
Comment
It is encouraging to see all of these bodies come together in this way. It is highly unusual to see them do so. There are others such as the BAEPD who would express similar sentiments. Brexit is now happening. But what of the future? For the good of industry and patients, as close an alignment between the UK and EU would be desirable.
Through PING (Pharmaceutical Industry Network Group), VWV held a sell-out conference in association with EMIG, on 3 April 2019, on how Brexit has affected the pharma supply chain. We heard about regulatory, research, immigration and trade issues; as well as an interesting and uplifting perspective from a European-based industry speaker. Press coverage of the event can be found in PharmaTimes and Pharmafield.
The 2020 PING Conference focuses on Britain's Great Life Sciences Future in the areas of genomics, personalised medicine and AI.