Britain's House of Lords seeks clarity on medicines access

Just nine-weeks before the UK will leave the European Union, and no actual deal has been approved by Parliament, the House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee has yet again called on the government to provide clarity on whether access to medicines and medical products can be guaranteed after Brexit in the event of no deal.

The Committee had initially written to the Secretary of State Matt Hancock MP following an evidence session on no-deal preparations for medicine provision in November of last year, asking for clarity and further detail. While the answers received are welcomed by the Committee, the Minister’s response on January 10 has not alleviated all of the members' concerns.

In particular, the Minister failed in his response to state what action is being taken to address the uncertainty that data from clinical trials conducted in the UK will be accepted by the European Medicines Agency. The Minister’s response referred to information published months ago and in its letter the Committee ask for assurances to drug companies that trials will continue to be open for UK patients.