Drugmakers stockpile medicines for Brexit

As uncertainty grows over the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, two of the world’s biggest drugs companies are stockpiling medicines.

France’s Sanofi is increasing its stocks by four weeks to give it a 14-week supply of medicines, while Switzerland’s Novartis said it was also preparing for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

Supplies of thousands of medicines could be disrupted if Britain leaves the EU without a deal next March and border checks and lengthy transport delays arise.

Rival pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and MSD (known as Merck & Co in the United States) have also announced stockpiling plans.

Sanofi, which makes insulin, is worried about any transport delays following Brexit, as most of its supplies have to cross the Channel.

“The uncertainty in the Brexit negotiations means that Sanofi has been planning for a ‘no deal’ scenario,” said Hugo Fry, managing director of Sanofi UK, adding this was in line with recommendations by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations.

“Patient safety is our main priority and we have made arrangements for additional warehouse capacity in order to stockpile our products, where global supply allows, in the UK and increase UK-based resource to prepare for any changes to customs or regulatory processes,” Fry said.

Sanofi’s Brexit preparations were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

GlaxoSmithKline, Britain’s biggest pharmaceutical company, which makes the asthma drug Advair, as well as HIV treatments and vaccines, said it always held additional supplies of medically critical drugs in case of disruption.

GSK started implementing its contingency plans in January, focusing on supply chains. The drugmaker estimated that Brexit-related costs would be up to 70 million pounds ($92 million) over the next two to three years, with ongoing costs of 50 million pounds a year, due to re-testing of medicines, transferring marketing authorizations in the UK to the EU, and altered manufacturing licenses and other steps.

The NHS in England is preparing to stockpile medicines and blood products in case of a “no deal” Brexit, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

Both London and the EU have insisted that they want to avoid a “no deal” Brexit but key differences remain. London insists that “no deal is better than a bad deal”.