As the “Brexit” deadline nears, there are several unknown questions as to how the separation will change and effect the landscape of pharmaceutical industries across Europe and possibly even the United States. The United Kingdom (UK) will not exit the European Union (EU) completely until March 30th, 2019; however, Brexit’s consequences have already begun to affect the life sciences industry, reported LaBiotech1.
As of January 2018, the European Pharmaceutical Review(EPR) reported challenges for life science companies in the UK to fill senior positions. EPR reported candidates falling from around “40% non-UK nationals to just 15% non-UK candidates on average”2. This is due to several reasons including the relocation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), challenges to collaborations between the UK and EU life science partners, reduced investment in UK and EU Biotech, and movement of biotech companies away from the UK and potentially the EU.1
According to BioSpace, the offices of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which were previously in London, will move to the Netherlands.3Because of this, staffing issues are expected.
The amount of European money that will be invested in UK companies will most likely fall and UK firms that relied on investment funds from the European Investment Fund will have to compete with US comapnies.1Reduced funding from the EU could drive smaller companies to consider leaving the country and move to the United States. Other biotech and life science employees working in the UK may return to their country of origin once Brexit goes into effect.1
None the less, the British government is still looking to grow the pharmaceutical sector by investing in research and development, reported BioSpace.3Prime Minister Theresa May launched a program last year to help provide the necessary funding support for the biotech industry. For example, US biopharmaceutical company, Merck & Co., and German diagnostics firm, Qiagen, announced their intention to expand facilities and increase hiring in Britain, reported c&en. President of Merck Research Laboratories said, “This new London location will enable us to … be an important contributor to the vibrant and rapidly growing London life sciences community, while providing access for more collaborations within the European life science ecosystem.” 4
The full impact of Brexit on the UK, EU, and global biotech landscape is yet to be determined. Stay up to date on how this political event may impact the life science industry by subscribing to our newsletter, which provides quarterly updates on significant industry changes our clients should know about.
1 https://labiotech.eu/brexit-european-biotechnology/
2https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/71373/uk-life-sciences-brexit/
4https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i48/Merck-Qiagen-expand-UK.html