Top Brexit Concerns Among Life Sciences Highlighted

With the UK’s prime minister triggering Article 50 before the end of March, the stage has been set for negotiations with the EU to begin and for the UK to slowly start to disentangle itself from the rest of the member states.

Theresa May is planning to introduce the Great Repeal Bill later this year in preparation for leaving the EU. This will leave existing EU legislation in force in the UK once Brexit is complete by making it domestic, rather than European law. The intention is to give lawmakers time to evaluate it and make appropriate changes.

However, for the life sciences sector there are particular areas of concern that will need to be addressed.

Writing for Business News Wales, Greenaway Scott highlighted three areas of law that are crucial for the success of the sector.

Regulation is the first, as products can currently be imported and exported within the EU with minimal fuss due to the mutual regulatory framework. Should the UK’s relationship with the EU alter substantially, the processes in this area could be subject to change.

Another area those in the life sciences arena will be watching closely is how intellectual property is dealt with. As an EU member state, patent filings go through the Unified Patent Court and mean patents apply across the whole region. If this were to change, it could have a serious impact on innovation and progress within medical research in the UK, the firm suggested.

Workers’ rights are another concern, with Greenaway Scott pointing out that seven per cent of those employed in life sciences in the UK are non-British EU nationals. If they are unable to continue their work in the UK, it could harm the sector, the organisation added.

For help with your life science sales pipeline, contact us at Voicentric today.