UK chemical and pharma industries appeal to remain within EU
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) have asked for a continued membership of EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation. This will enable both industries to keep market access to the EU. In a letter to Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, the CIA said 60% of all chemical exports from the UK were destined for the EU, and 75% of all chemical imports came from the EU - meaning that staying in REACH was the "most cost-effective" solution.
Following last week's announcement that a deal had been reached between the UK and EU on phase one of Brexit negotiations, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) called for a cooperation agreement between the UK and EU on medicines.

“It is now crucial that the regulation and supply of medicines for UK and EU patients is prioritised. A cooperation agreement between the UK and the EU on medicines is the best way to ensure that there is no disruption to 500m patients receiving the medicines that they need,” the ABPI said.

Pharmaceutical expert Catherine Drew of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said the ABPI statement reflected the industry’s continued pressure for a pragmatic solution to medicines regulation post-Brexit.

Meanwhile, in a letter to environment secretary Michael Gove seen by Out-Law.com, the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) asked for continued membership of the EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, to enable its members to retain market access to the EU.

CIA chief executive Steve Elliott said in the letter that because 60% of all chemical exports from the UK were destined for the EU, and 75% of all chemical imports came from the EU, continued engagement with REACH and the European Chemicals Agency was “the most cost-effective way of securing the competitiveness of our sector”.

Elliott said a “no deal” scenario or exclusion from REACH would mean registrations and authorisations would become non-existent on the day the UK leaves the EU. “Duplicating registration costs would obviously affect the competitiveness of UK products and create a significant drain on resources in order to simply stay where we are today,” Elliott said.

The CIA letter conceded REACH was “far from perfect” but said the best way of minimising disruption to supply chains was by staying within the regime and under the remit of the European Chemicals Agency.

The calls from the ABPI and CIA echoed similar statements from pharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Roche, which submitted their views on the potential impact of Brexit to a UK parliamentary inquiry last week.