UK Takes More Action To Fly In No-Deal Brexit Drug Supplies

In the latest move in its no-deal Brexit preparations, the UK is offering a contract for suppliers to provide an “uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products,” including temperature controlled and time-sensitive medicines.

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The government is asking for more medicine delivery options in a no-deal Brexit

The UK government is embarking on yet another effort to secure supplies of critical medicines and medical products after Brexit, this time in the form of a £25m contract to provide an express freight service able to rapidly deliver small consignments to the UK if normal supply channels are disrupted, as is widely expected in the event of a no-deal exit.

The procurement contract has been drawn up by the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the government’s plans to “support continuity of supply when the UK leaves the EU on 31 October.” The DHSC said the “taxpayer will only be liable for up to around £4 million of the total value of the contract, but it is expected to be much less than this.”

The service provider will be expected to offer “assured access to an express freight capability to maintain the uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products where there is an urgent need or where a suppliers' own logistics arrangements are disrupted.”

The idea is to guarantee the delivery of small parcels of medicines or medical products on a 24-hour basis, “with additional provision to move larger pallet quantities on a 2-to 4-day basis. The service will be available to the whole of the UK,” the DHSC added. Delivery may be by "any mode of transport," although as time is of the essence, air freight will be the logical choice. 

While the majority of goods will be standard medicines and medical products, the express freight service will also be required to deliver temperature-controlled products, time-sensitive drugs and hazardous materials as needed.

"This express freight service sends a clear message that our plans should ensure the supply of medical goods remains uninterrupted as we leave the EU” – health minister Chris Skidmore

 

Health minister Chris Skidmore said: “I want to ensure that when we leave the EU at the end of October, all appropriate steps have been taken to ensure frontline services are fully prepared. That’s why we are stepping up preparations and strengthening our already extremely resilient contingency plans. This express freight service sends a clear message to the public that our plans should ensure the supply of medical goods remains uninterrupted as we leave the EU.”

The department said the service had to be operational by 24 October “to allow testing in advance of full operational sign-off” by 31 October. Service providers interested in applying need to act quickly: the deadline for receipt of offers is 21 August. The successful provider(s) will be announced in September.

The contract is the latest move in the government’s ongoing efforts to guarantee continued medicines and medical product supplies after Brexit. In July it announced that it had doubled Brexit funding for this year, setting aside another £2.1bn to prepare for a no-deal scenario. Of this, £434m was for helping to ensure the supply of vital drugs and medical products, including through greater freight capacity, warehousing and stockpiling. (Also see "How Will You Spend Extra £434m On No-Deal Brexit Planning? Industry Asks UK Gov’t" - Pink Sheet, 2 Aug, 2019.) 

It also published a tender for operators to provide air cargo or maritime transport for trucks and other vehicles carrying medicines in order to ensure the “continued flow of Category 1 goods,” which include human medicines, medical devices, and clinical consumables. (Also see "UK Seeks Cargo Planes To Fly In Post-Brexit Medicines Supplies" - Pink Sheet, 13 Aug, 2019.) 

According to the health department, the new service will support preparations that have already been put in place, including:

• Building buffer stocks of medicines and medical products.

• Changing or clarifying regulatory requirements so that companies can continue to sell their products in the UK if there is a no-deal exit.

• Strengthening the process and resources used to deal with shortages.

• Procuring additional warehouse capacity.

• Supporting companies to “improve the readiness of their logistics and supply chains to meet the new customs and border requirements for both import and export.”

Three Lots

The contract, which the DHSC says will run for 12 months with a possible 12-month extension, is split into three lots as follows:

Lot 1 – to provide a total daily volumetric capacity of 30m³. Value: £15.96m.

Lot 2 – to provide a total daily volumetric assured capacity of 50 EUR Pallets (the standard EU pallet size). Value: £5.16m.

Lot 3 – to provide a total daily volume of assured capacity of 5m³. Value: £3.96m.

According to the contract notice, lots 1 and 2 relate mostly to the delivery of standard, non-temperature controlled and non-hazardous products.

Lot 3 is for active temperature-controlled products, controlled drugs (needing compliance with Home Office requirements) and medicines (compliance with good distribution practice). It will also cover a “bespoke logistics solution” to deliver anything outside a standard parcel or pallet dimension and/or requiring specialized conditions of carriage, including:

• Time-sensitive shipments (eg, delivery within 24 hours).

• Substances of human origin (blood, cell cultures, human tissues and organs)

• Hazardous materials (any biological, chemical, radiological or physical agent that could cause harm to humans, animals or the environment).

• Oversize products.