Courtesy of Michael Rawlins
Many patients — including the prime minister herself — could be “seriously disadvantaged” by disruption to the drug supply chain if the UK exits the EU without a deal, the head of the UK’s medicines regulator has said.
In comments made in a “personal capacity” to The Pharmaceutical Journal, Sir Michael Rawlins, chair of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said that the supply of medicines such as insulin could be disrupted because the UK does not manufacture it and transporting it is complicated as its storage has to be temperature-controlled.
Prime minister Theresa May has type 1 diabetes and is known to use insulin to control it.
Rawlins said that the government needed to “work out how” the supply of some medicines are going to be guaranteed in the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.
He said: “There are problems and the Department for Exiting the EU and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) needs to work out how it’s going to work.
“Here’s just one example why: we make no insulin in the UK. We import every drop of it. You can’t transport insulin around ordinarily because it must be temperature-controlled. And there are 3.5 million people [with diabetes, some of whom] rely on insulin*, not least the prime minister.”
Rawlins went on to say that the government needed to honour its promises that patients would not be disadvantaged by the UK leaving the EU in March 2019.
He added: “Disruption to the supply chain is one of the ways that patients could be seriously disadvantaged. 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.”
Rawlins’ interview with The Pharmaceutical Journal was carried out before Matt Hancock, the new health and social care minister, told MPs that “contingency planning” was in place to ensure that “people’s health will be safeguarded in the event of a no deal”, with stockpiling of medications an option being considered. The
Pharmaceutical Journal understands from the DHSC that this includes looking at the storage of insulin.
In the interview, Rawlins also said that it was important for the UK to have “associate membership” of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) — as stated by the prime minister — so that it can influence decision-making, and that he hoped to get all the authorisation work for 370 products recently reallocated to other EU agencies.
He said: “We can’t just sit at the edge of the room watching what’s going on, not speaking: we need to have a say.
“We do about a third of scientific assessments for the EMA, so we make a major contribution. The EMA has reassigned the UK’s portfolio of centrally authorised products to other EU member states, but the ideal solution would be to get it all back again.”
Wholesalers have begun talks with the government over the implications of a no-deal Brexit and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has also expressed concern over medicines supplies.
A Brexit forum representing community pharmacy and other organisations have been set up to share advice and information about any medicines shortages and maintaining the supply chain in the run up to Brexit.
A statement from the National Pharmacy Association, a membership organisation for community pharmacy, said: “Community pharmacists and everyone in the medicines supply chain, need certainty as soon as possible in order to prepare appropriately to meet patient need. The onus is now on the government to achieve that certainty.”
