No-deal Brexit could deepen Europe's shortage of medicines - experts

[snoop1130]

No-deal Brexit could deepen Europe's shortage of medicines - experts

By Francesco Guarascio

 

Illustration photo shows various medicine pills in their original packaging in Brussels, Belgium August 9, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Illustration

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - As the Oct. 31 deadline for Britain to leave the European Union approaches, health professionals are warning that shortages of some medicines could worsen in Europe in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

 

Britain’s food and drink lobby warned last week that the country would experience shortages of some fresh foods if there is a disorderly no-deal Brexit. Pharmaceutical companies have expressed similar concerns about medicines, and some have reserved air freight capacity to fly in supplies if needed..

 

But the impact on medical supplies will also be felt beyond Britain. About 45 million packs of medicines are shipped from Britain to the rest of the bloc every month, in trade worth nearly 12 billion pounds in 2016, according to a British parliament report.

 

Experts say some disruption is inevitable if Britain leaves the EU without a deal. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will lead his country out of the EU on Oct. 31 without a deal if the EU refuses to negotiate a new divorce agreement.

 

Some drugs might not have the required regulatory approval by then to continue being brought in from Britain. About 1 billion packs go in one direction or the other each year, industry data show.

 

Increased customs controls at ports and other borders between Britain and the EU could also disrupt supplies of drugs and the chemical compounds needed to produce them, regulators and industry representatives say.

 

“Despite intensive preparation by industry for every scenario, a no-deal Brexit risks disruption to the supply of medicines” throughout the EU, Andy Powrie-Smith, an official at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, told Reuters.

 

The EU drugs regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said the bloc is well prepared for Brexit and has finalised authorisations for nearly all the 400 drugs under its watch that required further clearing because of Britain’s impending departure.

 

But authorisation is pending for three medicines that need EU-wide licences, an EMA official said without identifying them.

 

Other essential medicines could also be blocked because of supervisory hurdles because of Brexit, EMA data show.

 

The agency is the only body that can authorise sales in the 28-country EU of new drugs to treat the most common and serious diseases, including cancer, diabetes and flu.

 

WORSENING WOES

 

Many other medicines authorised at national level could also be at risk. Nearly 6,000 of these drugs need to go through a new licensing process after Brexit.

 

The EMA official said the agency did not have “a full picture” of the situation in all EU states for nationally authorised medicines.

 

The Netherlands said in February that 50 “critical” drugs were at risk of shortages in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Concerns about most of those drugs have since been resolved, a spokesman for the Dutch health ministry said, but problems could arise for less essential medicines.

 

In a report in June, the EU’s executive European Commission included medicines and medical devices in a list of sectors for which “continued and particular vigilance” was needed.

Many EU states already face shortages of some medicines because of problems with production, regulators or distribution.

 

A survey of 21 European countries showed that all of them experienced shortages of medicines last year, according to the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union, a pharmacists’ trade body. Vaccines were among the drugs most frequently cited as being in short supply.

 

Britain will need to authorise hundreds of new medicines on sale now only thanks to EU-wide registrations. Britain imports about 37 million medicine packs every month from the EU, industry figures show.

 

Britain is also losing supervisory and clinical-trial capacities as many operations have already moved to the EU to remain able to test and approve drugs for the EU market after Brexit. This trend could shrink the local pharmaceutical industry and lead to tighter supplies and higher costs.

 

EU countries face the same logistical hurdles for their imports from Britain.

 

In the event of Brexit without a divorce deal, “there will be some problems and delays in the supply chain due to border protocols, but I think we will be able to manage,” said Eric Van Nueten, the chief executive officer of Febelco, Belgium’s largest wholesale trader of medicines.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-12

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[mercman24]

get ya drugs from Thailand they dont care what they sell here and who to , its great,

[Handsome Gardener]

The brexiteers took all this into account when they voted leave don't worry. 

 

Just google cancer and Brexit - not happy with decimating finance and industry brexshit will be wreaking havoc in the medical world as well. Great job.

 

Cancer Research UK have already sent out distress calls that UK cancer scientists will not have access to the latest cutting edge European research (or be charged a fee for it) AND more crucially be cut off from the not insignificant grants from the EU, and that treatments currently saving peoples lives may not be an option after a no deal exit.

 

Given yet again European scientists outnumber the brits guess who comes out worse again ?

 

Still, I predict brexiteers will now label all oncologists, bias paid up members of 'Project Fear'. 

[aright]

29 minutes ago, Handsome Gardener said:

The brexiteers took all this into account when they voted leave don't worry. 

 

Just google cancer and Brexit - not happy with decimating finance and industry brexshit will be wreaking havoc in the medical world as well. Great job.

 

Cancer Research UK have already sent out distress calls that UK cancer scientists will not have access to the latest cutting edge European research (or be charged a fee for it) AND more crucially be cut off from the not insignificant grants from the EU, and that treatments currently saving peoples lives may not be an option after a no deal exit.

 

Given yet again European scientists outnumber the brits guess who comes out worse again ?

 

Still, I predict brexiteers will now label all oncologists, bias paid up members of 'Project Fear'. 

You are at it again, more of your project fear. It would appear it's not only oncologists

 

The UK is experiencing a drug shortage with a number of pharmacies struggling to access common medicines.

Sandra Gidley from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society explained this has been an ongoing issue for nearly a decade and is not a direct side effect of Brexit

Should people be concerned?

In short, no. Because the issue has been going on for so long, there are measures in place to stop any fallout.

But Ms Gidley said people should not stockpile medication, because if everyone held onto an extra month’s supply, “we’d begin to run out of things”.

“If everyone is sensible, everyone should get their medication unless they’re is a manufacturing problem.”

https://inews.co.uk/news/drugs-shortage-uk-brexit-list/

 

It is you who are creating havoc and promoting system failure by using fear to encourage stock piling and denial of technology. I thought I knew you better.

[Loiner]

Hang on, isn’t Project Fear supposed to be that the UK will have the shortage?
The Remain lobby have got it all wrong again. Just like their referendum prediction. Post-Brexit UK will prove all their other lies and doom calculations to be wrong too.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[grumpy 4680]

       Too many Remainers obviously don't have a clue what life was like before the common market, they only see one side of the whole picture, and hence only believe the EU propaganda, they can't grasp the fact that Germany and two faced France need the UK's money to build their Federal Europe, and then screw Britain for all its worth, with it's laws etc.

       The likes of Ted Heath, Blair and J. Major sold Britain down the river, just like many of the remainer politicians are trying to do now. (regardless of the Referendum)

       Some shortages are probably inevitable, but in due course thing will become stable again, Europe is doing it's best to rock the boat by not making it easy for us to leave, so we can return to the days when Britain never had so many problems.

       Any deal that leaves us tied to the EU would be a bigger disaster, so a NO DEAL is the only sensible answer.

[grumpy 4680]

        I think Handsome Gardener should concentrate on growing daisies, The medical professions and scientists have always worked together to rid the world of its diseases and cancer's 

       Shame they can't cure the politicians, that are the biggest problem.

[zydeco]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

could worsen

Could? Weasel words. Either it will or it will not. Bring your evidence and prove your claim.

[Bluespunk]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Britain is also losing supervisory and clinical-trial capacities as many operations have already moved to the EU to remain able to test and approve drugs for the EU market after Brexit. This trend could shrink the local pharmaceutical industry and lead to tighter supplies and higher costs.

Ah huh...

[Baerboxer]

17 hours ago, mercman24 said:

get ya drugs from Thailand they dont care what they sell here and who to , its great,

 

Quality, copies, not exactly what you thought it was: all spring to mind.

[Basil B]

11 hours ago, Loiner said:

Hang on, isn’t Project Fear supposed to be that the UK will have the shortage?
The Remain lobby have got it all wrong again. Just like their referendum prediction. Post-Brexit UK will prove all their other lies and doom calculations to be wrong too.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Get your head out of the sand... It has already started.

Quote

 

Women going through the menopause are facing a national shortage of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Many of the most commonly prescribed forms of HRT, which helps deal with the symptoms of the menopause, are out of stock in some pharmacies.

The Department for Health and Social Care said it was aware of "ongoing supply issues" due to "manufacturing delays".

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49308083

[IssanMichael]

18 hours ago, Handsome Gardener said:

The brexiteers took all this into account when they voted leave don't worry. 

 

Just google cancer and Brexit - not happy with decimating finance and industry brexshit will be wreaking havoc in the medical world as well. Great job.

 

Cancer Research UK have already sent out distress calls that UK cancer scientists will not have access to the latest cutting edge European research (or be charged a fee for it) AND more crucially be cut off from the not insignificant grants from the EU, and that treatments currently saving peoples lives may not be an option after a no deal exit.

 

Given yet again European scientists outnumber the brits guess who comes out worse again ?

 

Still, I predict brexiteers will now label all oncologists, bias paid up members of 'Project Fear'. 

Right then and right now.  

 

 

[Loiner]

        I think Handsome Gardener should concentrate on growing daisies,

Bottom side upwards would be an idea.