Further reaction to the EU referendum result

Following the result of the United Kingdom’s referendum on membership of the European Union, Mike Thompson, CEO of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has said: 'The voice of the British people has been heard. This creates immediate challenges for future investment, research and jobs in our industry in the UK. With that being the case, we are committed to working closely with the government to agree what steps need to be taken to send a strong signal that the UK is open for business.'

Warwick Smith, Director General of the British Generic Manufacturers Association and the British Biosimilars Association, added: 'The existence of a single European marketing authorisation for medicines has generated considerable benefits for patients, the NHS and the industry. The single European marketing authorisation reduces cost and complexity for manufacturers, facilitating the production and regulation of high quality medicines and their availability to patients.'

'The UK generic and biosimilar medicines industry therefore urges the government to do everything possible to maintain this European marketing authorisation system in the forthcoming negotiations with the European Union,' he said.