Posted by Michael Wonder on 27 Jun 2017
Brexit could have 'catastrophic' effect on access to new life-saving drugs for decades, warns expert
27 June 2017 - Health economics consultant says quitting European Medicines Agency would be 'nothing short of madness', but suggests a way post-Brexit UK could 'have cake and eat it.
Leaving the European Union could have “catastrophic” effects on access to new potentially life-saving medicines for decades, according to health economics consultant.
Drug companies currently must apply to health regulators such as the EMA before their products can be used and they tend to target the largest, most profitable markets first.
In an article in the journal ecancermedicalscience, health economics consultant Anthony Hatswell, of BresMed Health Solutions and University College London, said quitting the EMA would be “nothing short of madness”.
But he also suggested a way in which the UK could actually jump ahead of the EU – although this involves remaining part of the EMA, which hard-line Brexiteers are likely to oppose.
