UK medicines regulator moves to quell fears of post-Brexit regulatory disorder

The UK’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has provided an update on its post-Brexit contingency planning for the benefit of drugmakers seeking to prepare for the UK’s exit from the European Union.

While reports suggest some UK lawmakers are pushing to retain membership of the EMA after the planned exit date of March 29, 2019, as things stand the UK will need to establish its own legal basis for medicines regulation and oversight after the country leaves the EU.

Referring to the Joint Report produced by UK and EU negotiators, the MHRA notes that “goods placed on the market under Union law before the withdrawal date may freely circulate on the markets of the UK and the Union” as before.