Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
I really wouldn't worry about that, Richard. It's scaremongering, pure and simple.
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Drug regulation is a big part of what I do for work. Will there be a shortage of drugs, the answer is ‘it depends’. A lot of drugs, particularly biological such as a number of cancer treatments (the ones wwith th generic names ending in MAB) are not actually approved directly by the MHRA, the UKs drug approvals body. Instead, we delegate this to the European Medicines Agency.
If one member of the EMA approves a drug, it is approved across the whole EU. It’s a nice system that works well for the industry and the consumer. The big question is tha will we accept EMA approved drugs post Brexit? What about new drugs?
A large number of bio.ogicals are made in Ireland and approved by the Irish regulatory bodies. Do we trust the going forward? If yes, what happens if something goes wrong, who is liable? What if there is a disagreement on the regulatory approaches? If no, we may need to approve all EMA approved drugs to MHRA standards going forward.
It’s a tough one! Do we trust a foreign drug agency to protect the health of British patients. In a WTO situation, if we accept EMA standards, we may need to accept any third party standards.
Regulated industries are terrified about this at present. See also aviation as an example...