Pharma companies warned over ‘no deal’ Brexit disruption

The government is asking pharma companies to introduce additional measures, over and above the stockpiles already in place, in the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. Health secretary Matt Hancock said that after Brexit, the government will find ways to ensure goods can continue to flow into the country and won’t be delayed by additional controls and checks. Some pharma companies revealed earlier this year that they had stockpiled medicines as part of their contingency planning around Brexit. But in a letter to the industry Hancock said that the UK will not be able to control the checks that member states impose at the EU border and that extra measures other than the stockpiles will be necessary.
The European Commission has made it clear that in the event of “no deal”, it will impose full third-country controls on people and goods entering the EU from the UK, Hancock said. “Whether this happens or not is in their hands, not ours,” Hancock said in the letter. This could mean delays at borders for around six months after Brexit in March next year in the short straits between Dover and Folkestone, affecting both imports and exports. Medicines and medical products will be prioritized at the borders, where there will be extra roll-on, roll-off capacity and there will be alternative routes to ensure the flow of these products will continue “unimpeded” after 29 March next year, Hancock said. Hancock said that the government last month invited vendors of pharma warehouse space to bid for government funding to secure extra storage space for stockpiled medicines.