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Brexit and the pharmaceutical industry

Experts have expressed serious concerns about the impact of leaving the single market on UK life sciences, but should pharma and biotech investors be feeling nervous?
November 10, 2016

The four and a half months that have passed since Britain voted to leave the EU have been a time of uncertainty and turmoil for many of Britain's biggest industries. However, it wouldn't be unfair to assume that pharmaceutical companies could make it through Brexit relatively unscathed. Big hitters including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and AstraZeneca (AZN) witnessed rising share prices in the wake of the referendum, their high dollar-based earnings serving them well as the pound crashed.

But aside from the short-terms gains for big pharma, the country's future departure from the EU presents long-term challenges for the entirety of the sector which were outlined in a recent report by think-tank Public Policy Projects. Former health secretary Stephen Dorrell, who led the report, thinks life sciences - as one of the nation's biggest industries - should play a prominent role in Brexit negotiations. He warned that leaving the EU could have a damaging influence on the country's contribution to science as well as its pharma and biotech companies.

Collaboration is key

Lifesciences are "not merely a core British interest but a global industry", according to Mr Dorrell, and international and commercial collaboration has been key to the sector's growth in recent years.

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