Many Firms Still Not Ready For No-Deal Brexit, Says UK BIA
BioIndustry Association is expanding its outreach and support for companies
Executive Summary
The UK BioIndustry Association has warned that a wide range of life sciences companies, including small and medium sized firms, are still not fully aware of what a no-deal Brexit might mean for them.
The head of the UK BioIndustry Association says that many life science companies are still not prepared for the impact of a possible no-deal Brexit at the end of next month.
Unless a withdrawal deal is reached in the next few weeks, prime minister Boris Johnson will have to ask the EU for another extension to the Article 50 notification period beyond the Brexit date of 31 October, as required by a new law passed by parliament earlier this month.
However, while the government says it will abide by the law, Johnson still insists that he will not ask for another extension and that the UK will leave the EU at the end of October whether or not a withdrawal agreement has been reached.
In anticipation of a no-deal Brexit, companies have been making preparations that include building up an additional six weeks of supplies and setting up new batch testing facilities. The government also recently announced that eight transport companies would be bidding to carry truckloads of medicines and other goods from the EU to the UK via alternative routes and ports. (Also see "UK Names Ferry Firms To Carry No-Deal Brexit Medicine Supplies " - Pink Sheet, 23 Sep, 2019.)
Steve Bates, the BIA’s CEO, said: “The UK life sciences sector in conjunction with the Department of Health, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and NHS [national health service] have been developing stockpiles, expediting batch releases and determining alternative routing plans.”
However, “with weeks to go till a possible no-deal Brexit we are aware of a wide range of life sciences companies (particularly SMEs) who require more information on what a possible no-deal Brexit means for their company,” Bates said.
As the government has repeated its intention to leave the EU on 31 October with or without a deal, “and despite parliament’s recent actions, it would be unwise for companies to assume that a no-deal Brexit has now been ruled out,” he declared.
The BIA says it is therefore expanding its outreach and support to these companies to help ensure they are ready in case the UK leaves without a deal at the end of next month.
Together with life science support organizations One Nucleus, BioNow and MediWales, the association will be holding a series of events and webinars to support UK biotech and life sciences SMEs with their preparations. Consortia events will be held across the UK, including at the UK Bioscience Forum in London on 17 October and regional events in Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Cardiff.
Issues that companies are likely to raise at these events include the impact of a no-deal Brexit on staff, tax affairs, borders and payments, the association added. Funding for the events program is coming from the government’s Brexit Readiness Fund.
The BIA added that its monthly Brexit webinar briefings will now be held every week, starting on 27 September.