Drug firms want early answers on migration questions

Britain’s pharmaceutical companies have called on the new government to reach an “early agreement” with its European Union partners in areas affecting the biosciences industry, such as the regulation of medicines and the freedom of movement of staff.

The UK BioIndustry Association and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry both issued statements after the general election results were announced on 9 June setting out their concerns before the start of the Brexit negotiations.

BIA chief executive Steve Bates argued that non-UK nationals were vital to Britain’s ‘life science ecosystem’ making important contributions to a range of activities such as trade, finance support, market and intellectual property rules as well as in the underlying science.