Sanofi join AstraZeneca and MSD in stockpiling medicines, 1800 jobs at risk

The company will join AstraZeneca and MSD in making arrangements to increase its stockpile of medicines in preparation for an abrupt exit from the European Union. The French drug maker is set to increase its supplies to allow for an additional ten weeks of disruption as it seeks to build up 14 weeks’ worth of medical supplies.

Hugo Fry, the Managing Director of Sanofi UK commented that: "The uncertainty in the Brexit negotiations means that Sanofi has been planning for a 'no deal' scenario. Patient safety is our main priority and we have made arrangements for additional warehouse capacity in order to stockpile our products, where global supply allows."

He added that: "Sanofi is confident that its contingency plans will ensure that people in the UK can access the treatments they need after the UK leaves the European Union."

The company have also warned that jobs will be lost in the UK in the case of a hard Brexit. The company noted that quality control checks that are done between the UK and the 27 other EU countries would no longer be feasible in the case of a no deal exit from the EU.

Sanofi told the Wall Street Journal that a hard Brexit would see the company reduce its 1,800 person strong UK workforce as they shift staff, including quality control testers, into the EU. Fry noted that "This will lead to 12 planned job losses across several functions by summer 2020 although we are doing all we can to mitigate redundancies where possible."

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