Astrazeneca hoards drugs in preparation for Brexit

Astrazeneca is increasing its stockpiles of drugs by a fifth to ensure the smooth supply of medicines in the case of a hard Brexit in April 2019.

The FTSE 100 company is already duplicating drug tests, replicating licences and taking more steps to ensure the proper functioning of the business with other countries after the UK leaves the European Union in 2019. It is also considering the possibility of opening a site in Europe to start double testing the drugs to comply with EU regulations.

Astra has already spent £40m to prepare for its worst case scenario after Brexit. This number could rise as long as there is uncertainty about the future of UK business after the divorce.

Vice-president of global external manufacturing Juliette White told the BBC that the company had been planning for a no-deal scenario since the referendum took place in 2016.

“Ultimately – and as a safety net – we will increase the amount of finished medicines available to pharmacies and hospitals in the UK and the EU. We always have an additional amount of medicines available. We are increasing that by about 20%,” she explained.

She also warned regulators that the industry could face problems trying to get new products regulated or approved and requested the authorities to be flexible on the matter.

The ideal scenario for the pharmaceutical industry would be an alignment between the EU and the UK on drugs to avoid unnecessary testing.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a defeat in the Commons that will force the government to negotiate with the EU to secure a continued UK participation in the EU medicines regulatory network partnership that involves the European Medicines Agency.