On 1 January 2021, the UK formally left the EU to become a third country and no longer a member of the single market and customs union. Whilst there is still an ongoing backlash at the UK’s decision, the government believes it can make UK life sciences an industry with increased competitiveness.
This idea is founded in the UK being able to develop its own regulations and drug evaluation methods. Is this a possible reality? The starting point is using the country’s current power as Europe’s largest research centre for pharmaceuticals and related products to speed up the development and approval of new medicines so that they reach patients more quickly.
A look at how regulatory vacancies in the UK fared over the course of 2021 shows a healthy uptick, with new jobs up by 61% year-on-year. In comparison, recruitment for regulatory professionals in the EU27 countries grew a little slower, by 51% versus 2020.
Currently 22% of all regulatory vacancies in Europe are clustered in the UK. The south of England remains the largest area for regulatory affairs vacancies with jobs up by 11% so far already in 2022 and accounts for 54.2% of all hiring in the UK for regulatory affairs. This would perhaps be an early indicator demonstrating that the impact of Brexit has not yet provided the monumental hit on life sciences many had feared.
However, complacency will never be the UK’s friend as government officials work on a strategy aimed at boosting the competitiveness of the pharmaceuticals sector. The game plan currently is to make the UK a focal point for investment in drug development within Europe.
A driver to this ambition must be to ensure the UK’s regulatory system and drug evaluation procedures provide rapid pathways to market. The regulatory changes being implemented, despite the difficulties of no longer being part of the EU’s medicines licensing network via the EMA for EU-wide authorisations, and the decentralised procedure for national approvals, is of course a challenge. But the UK strategy seems to be focused on how to exploit gaps and loopholes in existing EU legislation.
We have many challenges before us. However, during the covid-19 pandemic (and based on the agility of the two main vaccines launched by Pfizer and AstraZeneca) there may be some light to focus on. So many, understandably, did not want the changes that Brexit delivered. However, the life sciences industry is renowned for embracing and working with change, as we saw during the recent pandemic. This showed the UK in a very positive and often agile light.
Yvette Cleland - CEO | Cpl UK