ABPI Chief warns of Brexit impact on EU

Mike Thompson, Chief Executive of the ABPI told The Pharmaceutical Journal that a no-deal Brexit could significantly disrupt the movement of the 45 million packs of medicine that travel from the UK into the EU each month as well as the 37 million packs of medicine imported from the EU into the UK.

Supply chains in France, Germany and the Netherlands would be most at risk due to the fact that they receive a large proportion of the medicines they consume from the United Kingdom.

Thompson noted that while the impact of a no-deal Brexit is well understood within the pharmaceutical industry, that same awareness was not apparent at the European governmental level.

The industry trade lobby chief noted that he thought "that Brexit is a high priority in the UK, more than it is in other member states. My concern is that other member states don’t quite understand that is their patients — and not just those in the UK — which need to be protected as well."  

He continued in stating that: "It’s become difficult for either the UK government or the EU to give us any real clarity on which [Brexit] scenario we should be planning for. We are working with our members to understand where the pressure points are and to make sure that we do everything we can to continue to supply medicines to patients across the whole of Europe."

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