What will the Brexit mean for the Pharmaceutical Industry?
Now it has been confirmed that UK will no longer remain part of the EU, we are expected to see some drastic changes in the pharmaceutical industry as well as pharmaceutical industrial suppliers. It will affect activities such as demand on manufacturers, hose testing providers and production.
One of the most important factors to consider is funding and investment. A very reassuring fact that came into play before the Brexit was that if there was an investment in the UK, access to other EU pharmaceutical markets could also be gained if necessary. Now, investment into UK pharmaceuticals has increased risk with losing additional research facilities in Europe.
The European Research Council provides more funding to the UK than and other EU countries that support universities project based research. Leaving the EU could cost as much as £8.5 billion of EU funding for British science over the next 4 years.
One other factor to consider is access to wider specialisations and talent. The pharmaceutical market in particular known for using a wide skill set from across the EU with various specialisations. The Brexit may narrow the talent pool available to the UK. Collaborative research such as that encouraged by the Innovative Medicines Initiative may suffer as a result. It is an important point to note that the UK is home to the HQ of the European Medicines Industry and many other pharmaceutical organisations. Having strong standing headquarters within the UK encourages strong relationships with British pharmaceutical companies, with more fruitful results and shared successes. A result of collaboration is innovation. This industry is characterised by strength in technology drives research. As you would expect, the higher the access to key technologies, the quicker we can create a real impact in the medical field. With limited access the domestic drug market, with pricing being an important factor for the UK in launching new drugs, the UK could quickly fall down the rankings for priority access.
On the other hand, strength can come from becoming ‘leaders of our own market’. It has the potential to shake up the way the market operates and drive a more competitive operation; which can be beneficial at times. We will now have to think about driving results within the UK from encouraging better education and harnessing the leaders of the industry. The UK will need to build its reputation to create perhaps a more specialised field. New sources of funding will need to become a priority, from which increased awareness must be created. If we consider the success of Switzerland’s pharmaceutical market, with the largest market capitalisation, it offers the UK reassurance moving forward.
The consequences of the Brexit are complex. The relationship with the EU will still need further negotiation. The result of which could offer the best of both worlds – independence but with the ability to collaborate if required. If we consider the success of Switzerland’s pharmaceutical market, with the largest market capitalisation, it offers the UK reassurance moving forward.
