Drug companies would delay applying for UK licences to sell expensive, groundbreaking medicines if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, ministers have suggested. The claim, made in a Whitehall impact assessment signed off by ministers in the department of health, represents the first time the government has admitted that access to new drugs could be delayed under no-deal. The paper cites research suggesting that pharmaceutical companies could hold off from applying for authorisation to sell new medicines in Britain for up to a year after applying for permission to sell in the EU. At present drugs sold in Britain are assessed by the European Medicines Agency, which regulates the EU’s entire pharmaceutical market, a priority for pharmaceutical companies. But in the event of no-deal
A no-deal Brexit could mean drug companies delay plans to bring new medicines to the UK, according to a Whitehall report on the potential impact of a no-deal departure. It said pharmaceutical firms could delay their applications for a UK licence by up to a year after applying for similar clearance in the EU. The report, which was published last week, also warned that if Britain left without an agreement it would be difficult to negotiate future trade deals with other countries. In 10% of cases that delay stretched to a year.