[1andrew1]

Another Brexit bonus for the EU.

Sussex medicines firm takes production line abroad in white van to beat Brexit ban

UK assembly line at standstill as pharmaceutical company sets up in Amsterdam and plans EU expansion

A Sussex pharmaceutical company has told how it had to bundle a production line into a white van and take it to Amsterdam to beat a Brexit medicines ban.

The impromptu four-wheeled mission to the Netherlands has secured the supply of the asthma drug Ventolin for France, where the company, Mediwin, had a huge order book.

Lisa Cooke, its finance director, said the company had been preparing for Brexit since the referendum but had not counted on an overnight block on wholesale distribution from the UK into EU member states.

“It was a bit of a white-knuckle ride a couple of weeks ago. We had stockpiled supplies, particularly of Ventolin because it was being sold in huge quantities in France and we were getting anxious that we would run out,” she said. “So our production manager hired a van and took five machines – which was essentially one production line – to the Netherlands. He got the line up and running. We’ve rented an apartment and got six people working over there now. And so far we’ve hired 15 people in the Netherlands and they want another 10 or 11.”

Under the EU single market freedoms known as “parallel distribution”, Mediwin was allowed to buy drugs for a range of conditions, including type 2 diabetes, glaucoma and atrial fibrillation, from one member state and repackage them for another member state at lower prices.

In a blow to the British company, production lines in Littlehampton are now at near standstill while assembly ramps up in the Netherlands. Further expansion will take place in Spain and other EU countries.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...eat-brexit-ban