With negotiations currently stalled, and little progress made, the industry is gearing up for what’s become known as a “hard Brexit”. This would involve the UK leaving the EU without an agreement on future trade and other relationships. In this scenario, the UK becomes a "third country" and from this position must negotiate a new arrangement with the EU 27 and other countries.



The implications of this are incredibly difficult to predict, as we’d be in unchartered territory. However, the UK government wishes for the Pharmaceutical sector to negotiate a "bespoke" arrangement, in which the UK has a series of mutual recognised agreements and establishes a close cooperative model. This solution would mean that not much changes from the way things are today, but that the final decisions and authorisations are made by the UK and not by the EU Commission.

This wish was set out by the UK government in a letter issued in July 2017 by Greg Clarke and Jeremy Hunt. This position is strongly supported by industry, however, should this not work then the UK would seek to set up its own system, perhaps collaborating with countries such as Switzerland, Australia and Canada.