Ipsen warns over medicine supplies amid Brexit uncertainty

France’s Ipsen has become the latest pharma company to warn about the impact of Brexit on the pharma industry and patients’ access to medicines. As Theresa May attempts to drum up support for her Brexit deal, the French pharma said it was taking steps to minimize disruption to supplies of its drugs. But Harout Semerjian, Ipsen’s chief commercial officer, said the “uncertain” political climate caused by Brexit is a headwind affecting the European market, and beyond. Companies such as AstraZeneca have this year been increasing stockpiles of drugs in case of disruption caused by a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
Ipsen said it is taking similar steps, as it begins launching its cancer drug Cabometyx (cabozantinib) in second-line liver cancer across Europe after recent approval by the European Commission. The company is also building Cabometyx’s presence as a treatment for kidney cancer, in certain untreated patients and as a second line therapy. In an interview with pharmaphorum, Semerjian said: “The current European political climate is also quite uncertain, as we still do not know the exact terms on which the UK will leave the EU – and the terms of the future relationship with the EU. “However, leaving the EU and the single market will potentially impact the entire pharmaceutical industry; and could, in the absence of preparation, have serious implications for patients’ access to medicines and medical technologies.