The_Scientist_-_December_2018

12.2018 | THE SCIENTIST 63

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For example, medicinal insulin, used

by millions of diabetes patients—including

UK prime minister Theresa May—is not

manufactured in Britain, nor is it eas-

ily stored, as it requires temperature-

controlled conditions. The medicine is partly

produced and packaged in the EU, and a dis-

ruption to the supply chain due to a no-deal

Brexit “is one of the ways that patients could

be seriously disadvantaged,” Michael Rawlins,

chair of the MHRA, told The Pharmaceutical

Journal in July. “It could be a reality if we don’t

get our act together. We can’t suddenly start

manufacturing insulin—it’s got to be sorted,

no question.”

To minimize the risk of shortages, the

British government asked pharmaceutical

companies in August to add a minimum of

six weeks’ worth of backup supply of medi-

cines to their usual buffer stocks by the exit

date, and to ensure that contingency plans

are in place for drugs with short shelf lives.

Many UK-based drugmakers have con-

firmed that they are doing so. “The first

thing we are doing is making sure there is

continuity of supply, and making sure that

medicines are available to patients,” Eli Lil-

ly’s Peachey says. (Lilly manufactures a sig-

nificant proportion of the UK’s insulin at

facilities in France and Italy.)

But it’s not just the movement of med-

icines that’s at risk. As the possibility of

stricter rules regarding the flow of people

between the UK and the EU looms, phar-

maceutical firms are concerned about

their ability to attract talent from outside

Britain in the future. “[I]t is vital that

[companies] will still be able to access the

best talent from around the world and that

brain circulation continues in and out of

the UK as science relies on collaboration

and cooperation,” BIA’s Collister writes. 

Although Eli Lilly has not yet seen

significant changes in the proportion of

non-UK applicants, the company is mon-

itoring the situation closely, Peachey says.

She notes that because Lilly does not con-

tinuously hire large volumes of employ-

ees, it is likely such a change would only

be visible after a number of years. 

ABPI’s Thompson says that while

his association has not seen a significant

number of industry employees mov-

ing back to Europe, it has noticed “a

reduction in people from the EU apply-

ing for jobs in the UK”—an effect that’s

been  reported  in the academic science

sector, too. “I think that’s inevitable with

this level of uncertainty.” 

The full extent of the consequences of

Brexit—for the pharmaceutical industry

and beyond—will remain unclear at least

until the UK’s departure, and likely for

many years afterward. However Brexit pro-

ceeds, “we hope that Europe will also see

that it’s in the best interest of patients and

public health to continue to work in col-

laboration with the UK,” Thompson says.

“That’s the outcome that we’re looking for.”

Diana Kwon is a freelance science journal-

ist based in Berlin, Germany.

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