UK warns that no-deal Brexit could lead to "significantly reduced access" at borders for up to six months

The UK government on Friday warned that the absence of an exit agreement between the UK and EU could result in as much as six months of "significantly reduced access" at UK ports. Health Minister Matt Hancock noted that as a consequence, other measures will be needed to ensure drug availability in addition to stockpiling. "The government has also agreed that medicines and medical products will be prioritised…to ensure that the flow of all these products will continue unimpeded after 29 March 2019," Hancock added.  

Hancock specifically explained that the country's assessments had been "revised" to consider the possibility that the EU could impose import checks on goods imported from the UK. "In areas where we cannot tolerate significant risk to the flow of goods, such as with medicines and medical products, we need to have contingency plans in place for this worst-case planning assumption," Hancock continued.  

Specifically, the UK plans to use aeroplanes and fast-track trucks to guarantee that drug supply continues uninterrupted in the absence of an exit agreement with the EU. The health minister cautioned that the six-month estimate represented a "worst-case scenario."  

Commenting on the news, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) chief executive Mike Thompson remarked "today's update on potential border delays for six months in a no-deal scenario is stark," adding "stockpiling more medicines is not the solution to this problem." Thompson additionally said "we welcome the Secretary of State's intention to prioritise the flow of medicines and vaccines," continuing "the government should take immediate action to open up alternative supply routes between the UK and Europe and tell companies so that they can make plans." 

Earlier this year, the UK's Department of Health and Social Care asked drugmakers to ensure that they had at least six weeks' worth of drugs stockpiled to ensure access for NHS patients in the case of a no-deal Brexit. Similarly, drugmakers including AstraZeneca, Merck & Co. as well as Novartis and Sanofi unveiled plans to increase their medicines stockpiles, with Pfizer estimating that its Brexit preparations could carry a cost of as much as $100 million.