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Shortages: UK pharma warns against no-deal after week of Brexit chaos

Medicines manufacturers have responded to last week’s slew of Parliamentary Brexit votes to warn against a no-deal situation.

MPs voted against Theresa May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday (12 March), ruled out a no-deal departure on Wednesday (13 March) and voted for an extension to article 50 beyond 29 March on Thursday (14 March).

However, the nature of Britain’s exit from the EU remains uncertain, including the possibility of a forced no-deal Brexit if an agreement cannot be reached with the trading bloc’s member states.

Chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Mike Thompson said: “Pharmaceutical companies have done everything in their power to prepare for a ‘no deal’ Brexit. This includes increasing stocks of medicines, changing and adding new supply routes and duplicating manufacturing processes here and in Europe.

“Despite these efforts, we have always said that in a ‘no deal’ scenario we could face the very real possibility of disruption to the supply of some medicines.”

He added: “With just days remaining, we need a solution which avoids a ‘no deal’ Brexit and the potential harm it could cause.”






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