BioPharma, Policy

Panel sees opportunities, difficulties ahead for UK biotech after Brexit

While the U.K. biopharma industry will likely continue to play a significant role on the global stage, it could have trouble attracting talent, while European firms prepare for a worst-case scenario.

L-R: Steven Bates, CEO, BioIndustry Association; Edwin Beale, VP business development, MaSTherCell; Leonor Enes, scientific officer, European Medicines Agency; Bernard Grimm, healthcare director, EuropaBio; Tineke van Hooland, chairwoman, BIO.be; moderator Marc Martens, partner, Bird & Bird

Of the myriad questions that arise from the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union, one is the type of role the country will have in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals – in particular whether that role will be diminished or remain as significant as it is today.

At a panel discussion Wednesday at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s annual convention in Philadelphia, the predominant view was that the U.K. would continue to have a strong role globally in drug development, including cell and gene therapy, though it may diminish somewhat.

Following a request for an extension by the government of British Prime Minister Theresa May, the planned date of Brexit, the U.K.’s withdrawal from the bloc, is Oct. 31. Until then, it is still a member of the E.U., and its drug industry remains under the authority of the European Medicines Agency, which was previously based in London but decamped for Amsterdam earlier this year ahead of the original Brexit date of March 30.

Yet, a consistent sentiment among many has been that Britain will remain an important player in biopharma.

“In simple terms, the U.K. is one of the brightest spots in Europe for biotech and pharma activity,” said panelist Steve Bates, CEO of the London-based BioIndustry Association.

Excluding exchange rate effects, the U.K. maintains the highest share of biopharma research and development expenditure in Europe, and as of 2014 its pharmaceutical works had the continent’s highest per capita gross value added – 191,000 euros ($215,000), compared to 150,000 euros ($169,000) for the E.U. overall, according to the Association for the British Pharmaceutical Industry.

Still, fellow panelist Edwin Beale cited numbers indicating that post-Brexit Britain could have difficulty attracting talent. In February, GlobalData analyst Gavin Davidson wrote, “With Brexit creating lots of uncertainty on the UK’s future, there is no denying that it could act as a deterrent for overseas higher education students coming to the UK to study and then work.” That was despite figures showing a rise in the numbers of students studying STEM subjects at British universities.

However, while acknowledging that Brexit adds complexity for nationals from other E.U. countries, Bates said in an interview following the panel that he did not foresee the U.K. facing a significant talent shortage. “We see talent from around the world gravitating to cell and gene therapy companies in the U.K.,” he said, adding that the country has three of the top five global research universities and an expanding biotechnology sector.

The Financial Times reported in February that while many migrants from Central and Eastern Europe were leaving the U.K., the country was seeing a surge in immigration from India.

Still, the possibility of a “no-deal” Brexit, whereby the country would leave the E.U. without any agreements as to the U.K.’s relationship with the bloc, has prompted fears among drugmakers. Ahead of the original March 30 deadline, many companies had already enacted contingency plans such as stockpiling drugs and shifting operations out of the country. It was reported that Brexit had prompted at least one company, Japan-based Shionogi, to move its European headquarters from London to Amsterdam. The drugmaker’s website continues to list a London office, below the address of its Amsterdam location.

In November, a survey by GlobalData indicated that life sciences in the U.K. would suffer significantly due to Brexit, though an expert said it would likely continue to thrive, notwithstanding much of that riding on the future regulatory regime.

Photo: Alaric DeArment, MedCity News

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